Bradford City CEO Ryan Sparks urges city to learn lessons from past to build true sporting legacy following special day for Bradfordians

Perhaps above all else, it was an occasion when the city of Bradford - one which has taken some hefty blows over the years - gloriously came together as one.

A mass claret and amber gathering of Bradfordians of all colours and creeds, young and old, celebrated and savoured the moment as their team achieved promotion, just; in front of a record fourth-tier crowd of over 24,000 at a happy Valley Parade.

It represented the first time that City had been promoted on home soil since 1982.

With his chief executive officer’s ‘hat’ on, Ryan Sparks was fully aware of the afternoon’s significance for his football club.

As a Bradfordian and a supporter, he also appreciated the context of what it constituted for the city.

Such sporting moments have arrived before like in 1999 when the Bantams reached the Premier League for the first time and during the Bulls’ golden times in the noughties.

As a young lad growing up, Sparks remembers those times with pride, but also a pang of regret regarding what didn’t happen afterwards in terms of legacy for the city.

The City CEO told The Yorkshire Post: "It’s a huge year for the city of Bradford, with the city of culture.

"Society is tough at the minute. Divisions are talked about a lot and people not getting on and political differences. I have always believed that the most powerful tool is professional sport. We have such a diverse supporter base; and there was no division in our stadium on Saturday. It can be so powerful for Bradford.

"What Bradford as a city needs to take from this is what it didn’t when I was a young boy. It needs to nurture its assets and look after its professional sports clubs.

"Bradford City and Bradford Bulls have delivered for the city of Bradford before on a scale that cannot be comprehended or potentially ever repeated, by the way.

"The city, for me, didn’t do enough when I was a young boy to help and assist in that.

"It has to now see this and the scenes they saw and the money which was generated on Saturday - the economic impact - has to be ‘photographed’, kept, thought about and considered in the future of the city.

"One, I speak as chief executive of our club, but two, I speak as a Bradfordian. The power of sport should not, in any way, be downplayed. It’s huge for people’s mental health and a fantastic tool to completely transform things.

"Generally speaking, in mv experience, the cities which are economically powerful have great sports clubs and you have to work in hand. I know the city is challenged financially and it’s a tough period. But I hope learnings have been made from the past and us to improve our history.”

Three days on from those delicious promotion scenes, Bradfordians also converged in City Park and Centenary Square in the city centre at a celebration parade to mark the Bantams’ triumph.

On Sunday, the atmosphere will be different.

Bradfordians will gather in solemnity and remembrance to mark the 40th anniversary of those terrible events of May 11, 1985. A memorial service will be held at the Bradford City Fire Disaster sculpture in Centenary Square, commencing at 11am.

That forthcoming anniversary added considerable poignancy to the events of last Saturday at the club’s annual memorial fixture.

It was impossible not to be moved by a stirring rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ which reverberated around the stadium in the build-up to kick-off ahead of a minute’s silence.

The historical context of the day, combined with the game’s importance, helps to explain the outpouring of emotion which followed Antoni Sarcevic’s dramatic winner.

Sparks continued: "Saturday will be engrained in people’s lives and it certainly won’t ever leave me.

"There were families - mums and dads, fathers and sons, mums and daughters – and people crying tears of joy and saying they'd never witnessed anything like that.

"Even for some of our staff, myself included, it was very hard to control emotions. You are united by what you go through.

"Professional sport is an emotional machine and that’s why everyone loves it. Everyone has their opinion on it and cares about it and feels it. When it goes right and you have those moments, it’s like an outpouring of emotions.

"I hope I have a career in sport for the rest of my working life, but whether I will have a day like that again; I couldn't guarantee that…”