When is the Harrogate Town TV documentary on and how you can watch it

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The 90-minute film has been produced for BT Sport with the full collaboration of the club, in particular, their inspirational manager Simon Weaver.

As well as providing a wonderful picture of a memorable 2020 for Harrogate's footballing heroes, Proud To Be Town is already being hailed as the first full-length documentary to highlight the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on football, offering an insight into the dilemmas and challenges facing sport at present and includes footage self-shot by team members and club staff.

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “Proud To Be Town is not just the story of one club. It reflects aspects of almost every football club in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This film is a unique collaboration between BT Sport Films and Harrogate Town AFC.

“A large proportion of the film was self-shot by members of the team and club staff on phones and tablets, who enthusiastically recorded their experiences of lockdown, getting back into action and making their historic bid for promotion.

“We are grateful for the club’s collaboration. We were honoured to be part of the journey with this inspiring group of individuals, not least the film’s author, manager Simon Weaver.”

Filmed and produced during lockdown, while adhering to social distancing and remote ways of working, Proud To Be Town features self-shot contributions led by Weaver, along with his family, players and other key figures within the club.

Simon Weaver said: "It was pretty special to be a part of. I think this film provides a unique insight into football and our club.

"It was a new and novel project and I feel that Harrogate Town comes across brilliantly.

"Watching it brought back all the memories of our promotion at Wembley and had the hairs of the back of my neck standing up."

The BT Sport film follows Harrogate Town FC as it grapples with returning to the pitch for the Vanarama National League playoffs.

When the remainder of the season was cancelled in Spring, Harrogate Town were second behind Barrow in the league’s premier division and set for a place in the end of season play-offs.

But this depended on the National League being able to deliver the showpiece matches amid the easing of lockdown.

In the midst of all this uncertainty, the club’s future was unclear.

The film shows how the futures of the management team and players depended on a pandemic and related issues beyond their control and how they overcame the challenges to triumph in the Vanarama National League playoffs at a Wembley Stadium deserted of fans.

BT Sport will premiere Proud To Be Town on Saturday October 3 at 8pm and it will be available to watch at any time on the BT Sport app, BTsport.com, and BT TV on-demand the same day.

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