BRADFORD City has started an initiative to reward deserving Bradfordians with an honorary season ticket – and needs your help.

On the back of its Team Twenty campaign to reach 20,000 season ticket holders, the Valley Parade club is now seeking to honour a certain number of worthy individuals with the special ticket.

Now, the club would like to hear your nominations for who should get a ticket – and City’s chief operating officer James Mason has started the ball rolling by awarding a ticket to a man regarded as a hero in Bradford, Professor David Sharpe.

Prof Sharpe, who had a career in plastic surgery spanning 40 years, treated dozens of victims of the Bradford City fire disaster in 1985.

He then founded the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit at the University of Bradford, making the city a pioneer in the field of plastic surgery.

Prof Sharpe said: “I’m delighted to be awarded this lovely gesture. It’s very thoughtful of the club.

“I don’t get to as many games as I would like to at present as we live in North Yorkshire but I keep up to date with the scores and my mother-in-law is an avid fan who travels to every game!

“I really hope people will back the season ticket campaign to reach the magic 20,000 number. Bradford is a great club and a great city.”

Of the honorary ticket initiative, Mr Mason said: “To support our campaign we would like Bradford City fans and Bradfordians in general to nominate suitable people to qualify for a honorary season ticket, to recognise their contribution to the club or to the city itself.

“They might be a superfan who has gone to games home and away for years, through to fans that have supported the club for the best part of a century, or former players, managers or captains.

“Or they might be people associated with the club such as Professor David Sharpe, all the way through to the likes of Dynamo, who is world famous and put Bradford on the map, and up to the modern day with Zayn Malik, who is a proud Bradford fan.

“Zayn’s grandad, who has passed away, has a box named after him at the club.

“Whilst many may not come to games, they have all made a positive impact on the city in some way.

“To show our recognition we will give a number of specially-made season ticket cards to those individuals, whoever they may be.”

He added: “We want people to nominate who they think they should deserve one. Whether it is their mum, sister, brother or son, or someone they have never met that they think deserves it.

“I think it could be really exciting and add some real momentum to our #TeamTwenty campaign and get people talking, and asking each other who they think is deserving of it.

“We want it to be a lot of fun and a real talking point.

“We believe a strong Bradford City means a strong city of Bradford.”

Mr Mason said he was keen to get message boards and social media websites buzzing with ideas for nominations for who should receive an honorary season ticket.

But otherwise, any nominations should be sent – accompanied by reasons why the nominated person deserves to receive one of the special tickets – to commercial@bradfordcityfc.co.uk.