FOOTBALL fan Sharon Marshall has always believed that there was something poetic about the beautiful game.

And the Bolton Sixth Form lecturer has been proved “write” after becoming the latest signing for Nelson FC — as its official club poet.

Ms Marshall said: “The goal for me is to promote literacy through football. I started as a football poet, and this is a fantastic opportunity for me to promote my work but a chance to promote literacy — and I am the first the female to do this.”

The college’s literacy co-ordinator was approached by the football club to become its resident football poet through her popular Twitter account which she uses to promote the joys of literacy and importance of education.

Her poems are published in the official match programme and in return she gets a season ticket, and a Nelson FC shirt.

Ms Marshall, who became a Liverpool fan from the age of five after watching the team at Anfield, was determined her two loves could be brought together — and says she would love to see football poetry on the National Curriculum.

Ms Marshall said that football is a great way of getting people of all ages interested in literacy, particularly, although she stresses not exclusively, boys.

She said: “If Shakespeare was alive today he would be writing about the beautiful game. It has everything, passion, emotion — not all that different to what he was writing about. Football and literacy are not in separate camps.”

Ms Marshall said she will explore the club’s glory days including when Nelson FC became the first team to beat Real Madrid in Spain in 1923.

She said more and more football clubs are embracing the idea of poetry in football.

Ms Marshall said: “The club are supporting and promoting my work through my own page in their match-day programme.

“Neil McGuinness, Commercial Development Manager, is hugely supportive of literacy through football, and I am delighted to be given this opportunity to promote football poetry and literacy with one of our local football clubs.

“It is great it is a local club, a grassroots club and it is about showing that the two, football and literacy, go together.”