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Hibs have launched a four month ‘Persevered Scottish Cup Trophy Tour’ campaign across the east of Scotland.

The extensive tour will aim to target 40,000 children, students and fans across 114 venues, one for every year the club waited to win the William Hill Scottish Cup since the last victory in 1902.  And for schoolchildren, and other fans young and old, the tour will carry an important message – persevere.

It will visit primary schools, juvenile football clubs, businesses and local employers, the four major universities in Edinburgh and all of the Hibernian supporter clubs in the mainland.  The route will start in Edinburgh, moving to East Lothian, the Borders, Midlothian, West Lothian, Falkirk, Fife and finally back to Edinburgh in December.

The Hibernian Supporters’ Association are the presenting partner of the tour and have matched the investment from the Club to develop and resource the promotional campaign.

The Club’s staff working alongside the Hibernian Community Foundation will tell the story of the dramatic cup victory and give thousands of people the chance to get closer to the famous piece of silverware.

The core message that will be communicated in schools will be to ‘persevere’ – to never give up, to go the distance, to stop at nothing. Persevere is the motto of Leith and has become a very appropriate slogan of the Club’s cup-winning activities.

A dedicated website, www.persevered.co.uk, has been set up to host all the details about the tour. Over 40,000 wristbands will be distributed as well as promotional t-shirts and flyers.

A Hibs Kids ‘starter’ pack will also be launched as a new membership programme as part of it where kids can become part of the Club and attend a game for only £1. Players will also attend a number of tour dates to sign autographs and participate in Q&A sessions.

Leeann Dempster, Hibernian FC Chief Executive, said:“This will be the most extensive tour of its kind in this country.  We know where our fans are based and we have used that to map out our journey across Scotland.

“We have set ourselves ambitious targets to grow our fanbase and attract more people towards the Club and this tour will be the cornerstone of our efforts this season to turn Edinburgh and the surrounding areas green.”

David Gray, Hibernian FC club captain, commented: “The memory of our success at Hampden on 21 May will live with me forever and it was a real privilege for me to lead the team on the day.

“With this tour we hope to be able to share some our Scottish Cup stories and introduce the Club to fans, old and young.”

Crawford Corrigan, Chairman of the Hibernian Supporters Association said:We are proud to back this campaign and help support the efforts to attract the next generation of Hibernian supporters.

We have waited a long time to lift the Scottish Cup again and we can’t wait to take it on the road. Our branches have supported the Club through the decades and we want to give something back to the communities around Scotland that support the Club and make sure that more and more children grow up in the green and white of Hibernian.”

Charlie Bennett, Executive Director of the Hibernian Community Foundation said: “The Cup win has given a huge boost to  Hibernian fans everywhere.

“The Community Foundation is pleased to support this Tour and we will use the team’s success to inspire and motivate  people in our communities to improve their lives through the raft of social programmes we deliver.”

Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive, said: “I would like to congratulate Hibernian on devising such a widespread and engaging campaign that will give thousands of supporters the chance to get up close and personal with the William Hill Scottish Cup, the world’s oldest football trophy.”

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.