THE Northern Echo today launches an appeal to support Darlington's make-or-break home game against Rochdale on January 31.

Unless sufficient money is made from the game, administrators have warned that the club could fold.

To help see the club through this immediate cash crisis, we are offering local companies, organisations and individuals the chance to sponsor each of the 90 minutes of scheduled play.

For sponsorship of a particular minute, the price is £100 for companies and organisations. There is a £50 per-minute sponsorship opportunity for individuals or groups of individuals.

There has already been an excellent response to the appeal. Darlington Building Society, the club's primary sponsor, has set up a special interest earning trust fund account to channel the money raised through this appeal to the administrators, to be used to address the club's immediate day-to-day solvency.

The building society has also signed up to sponsor five of the 90 minutes and is offering a prize of two home game tickets to any sponsor in whose minute a goal is scored on January 31.

The Northern Echo has put its name to the first minute and the Albany Northern League, the world's second oldest football league, has sponsored a minute. Darlington was a founder member of the Northern League in 1889.

Also on board are the Darlington Partnership, Sherwoods and Darlington College of Technology.

Darlington MP Alan Milburn, who has raised the club's plight with the chairman of the Football League, Brian Mawhinney, is backing the appeal by pledging sponsorship from his constituency Labour Party.

Mr Milburn said: "I applaud The Northern Echo's backing for the club through this imaginative initiative and I urge local organisations to back the paper's campaign."

Companies, organisations and individuals can sponsor the minute or minutes of their choice. Each minute can be sponsored more than once.

On each day in the run-up to next Saturday's crucial match, we will publish the names of every sponsor.

* In the unlikely event of the match being postponed, sponsorship money will still go to the club.