Coventry City Football Club are saddened to learn of the death of Neil Walker, a dedicated Sky Blues fan and long term member of the club’s matchday staff.
A lifelong fan, Neil joined the club during the 1990’s at Highfield Road, operating the scoreboard on home matchdays.
Following the move to the Ricoh Arena, Neil started operating the video replays on the big screen and in recent years added the audio operation to his matchday role.
As well as being present at all home games, Neil often travelled around the country watching the Sky Blues and was there at Wembley in April for the Checkatrade Trophy victory (picture above).
Mark Hornby, Head of Marketing at Coventry City, paid tribute to Neil.
“We were shocked and saddened to learn of Neil’s death.
“Neil will be greatly missed by me and the matchday production team on both a personal and professional level.
“Neil was a hugely dedicated supporter, and you would often hear him shouting in support of the team in the scoreboard room on matchdays such was his passion for the club.”
“On behalf of the club, I’d like to express our condolences to Neil’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”
Coventry City matchday announcer John Dalziel said: "I can't believe we've lost our longest serving member of the matchday production team. Neil took me under his wing from the very first day I took to the Highfield Road pitch as announcer 15 years ago.
"It's sad to think that it was only a few weeks ago that we were talking about plans for the new season. His passion and commitment to the club was second to none and he'll be greatly missed by us all."
Neil’s funeral will be on Wednesday 19th July at 11:30am at Oakley Wood Crematorium in Leamington. There will be a collection for the Lifeboat Charity, acknowledging Neil’s love of sailing.