This has opened our eyes: After their player was killed, a grieving club has a new purpose -

Cody Fisher may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.

Certainly not by his family and friends, nor by the local children he taught PE to or anyone associated with the football team he played for, Stratford Town FC.

All around the Arden Garages Stadium, there are tributes to the 23-year-old defender, who was stabbed to death in a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day last year.

There is a photograph of Cody below the peg where he sat in the home dressing room. No player will ever sit there again.

In the bar, among photos of Cody in action, is his framed No 23 shirt, which was retired and blessed by the club reverend, John Martin, in a private ceremony for players, staff, friends and family.

Above the tunnel entrance is a plaque in honour of Cody that his team-mates can see as they enter the pitch.

Outside the Crane nightclub in Digbeth — which had its licence revoked after Cody was stabbed there — under a mile from St Andrew’s, the home of Birmingham City where he played in the academy before moving to Walsall, tributes were left, some by those touched by the tragic loss of life, others by those who knew Cody, such as his former pupils at St Gregory’s Catholic School in Stratford-upon-Avon. “You were my favourite PE teacher,” wrote one.

Some of those pupils formed a guard of honour when Stratford Town played against Kings Langley on January 7 — the first game since his death. Nearly 1,000 people were there for the Southern League Premier Central fixture, with a minute’s applause in the 23rd minute.

There was also a minute’s silence before Birmingham’s game against Hull City on December 30.

However, Stratford Town and his family and friends — who are all still grieving — want to do more than just remember Cody. They want to create a legacy that will benefit others in his name.

Cody playing for Stratford Town (Photo: Steve Wood and Paul Grant)

An online petition to bring in Cody’s Law, which would make it compulsory for nightclubs and live venues to have metal detectors and bleed kits on site, is close to 25,000 signatures, while the Cody 23 Community Fund has been set up to help young adults train to become coaches, like Cody, and referees.

The club’s Independent Supporters Association has already donated £1,000 with more fundraising planned.

“If we can do our little bit and try and help towards stopping knife crime — which is massive in the UK — that is the aim,” says Stratford manager Gavin Hurren. “It is not until it affects people that it truly hits home.

“It’s so hard, and I think the football club, his friends, his family, the community will do everything they possibly can to try and make a difference. I do believe what’s happening now, and will continue to happen, will make a difference. It’s such a senseless waste of a young man’s life.

“But if Cody’s Law does force live-music venues to have those metal detectors and plasma packs on-site, then something positive has come out of it. I really hope it will and I do believe with everybody behind it, and the love that Cody had, I just think it will make such a difference to so many lives.”

One life was lost, but Cody’s death — for which three men will stand trial in July; all three have pleaded not guilty — also devastated the lives of so many left behind, including his close friend and team-mate Dan Vann. He played with Cody at Walsall then joined Stratford, the pair reuniting. He was also with Cody at Crane the night he died.

“He was my best friend,” Vann tells The Athletic. “I’ve only got good things to say about him. Every day he had a smile on his face. All the lads here would say that he would come into the changing room and it looked as though he never had a bad day because he always had a smile on his face.

“I was always around his house. His mum, Tracey, practically adopted me as another son. I was always around there on Saturdays and Sundays. It has been so tough for them, but I know how strong his mum is.”

Dan Vann, who lost his best friend Cody (Photo: Rob Tanner)

Those at Stratford describe Cody the player as an athletic left-back, quick, agile and talented. But when those who knew him well describe his personality, there is a sense that words are inadequate.

“He was a really genuinely lovely lad and he was so respectful,” says Hurren, who also coached Cody at Bromsgrove Sporting. “He loved his football and he loved being around the lads. He was very respectful towards staff, his elders. Honestly, he was a credit to his family and himself. It’s just such a shame.”

Cody had picked up an injury that required surgery but that didn’t stop him from attending every game and training session to show his support for his team-mates.

“He would always get here early and be around the dressing room, and he would always wait for the lads to come in from training,” adds Hurren. “He was just an amazing lad to have around.

“That’s why I think it’s so nice that the bar is how it is now because that’s how everybody remembers Cody: when he would come in with a big smile and he’d be waiting. I can’t say much more. I think the tributes will show you the depth of love everyone felt for him.”

Chairman Jed McCrory, who had lost a friend previously to knife crime, has been a huge source of support to Hurren and the players, even offering to prematurely end the season if the players felt they couldn’t carry on. The players were offered counselling and told they should only return to action when all of them felt ready.

“If we didn’t want to play and the lads weren’t ready, and the feeling amongst the players was that if just one of them wasn’t ready, the feeling was, ‘Right, then we don’t play’,” says Hurren. “It was only when I got led by the boys and they said they were ready to play again that we went back to training.”

Local journalist David Lawrence recalls the emotional occasion of when Stratford returned to action against Kings Langley.

Stratford players return to the pitch for the first time following the death of their team-mate (Photo: Steve Wood and Paul Grant)

“It was a special day and Stratford played very, very well for probably 70 minutes,” he says. “They were like, ‘Let’s do it for Cody’, but I think the emotion all took its toll in the end.”

Stratford were 1-0 up until the 79th minute, but lost 2-1.

“It was very emotional,” says Lawrence. “Everyone at the club, like the chairman Jed, he lost someone close to him in the past, so it meant a lot to him. The fans as well, because he had played here for the club for a number of years. He left and came back a few times. But this always seemed to be his home club.

“A lot of the younger players looked up to him as well. I know the chairman’s son was heartbroken because he used to play football with him.”

That sense of loss has created a closer bond among the players, staff, supporters and everyone associated with Stratford Town, and while Hurren stresses that Cody’s death has emphasised to everyone that football is just a game, they have been galvanised, on and off the pitch, to honour Cody.

Stratford have been on a great run of form and pulled themselves away from relegation danger, losing only two of their last 13 games. They beat one of the promotion favourites, Coalville Town, last weekend.

“It’s just a game of football at the end of the day, but what this club does now and what has helped the lads is the togetherness,” Hurren says. “It’s made us all stronger. It sounds a little bit weird, but we care about each other more. This has opened our eyes and it means more than results.

“I think Cody has been looking over us because where we were it looked like the Great Escape was going to be impossible. I think Cody has been looking over them to ensure these lads played as well as they did, and we got there in the end.

“It’s just a game of football, but we want to represent our club, ourselves, our families and Cody in the right way, and I think the boys have, absolutely. I’m immensely proud to be the manager.”

Cody certainly has been looking down on them from the plaque in the tunnel, the picture above his peg and the photo memories in the bar. Cody is never far from their thoughts at Stratford Town.

For their end-of-season awards, there was no debate about who the players were going to pick as their Players’ Player of the Year: Cody Fisher.

Remembering Cody Fisher – The unanimous choice of the Stratford Town players.
CODY23 Community Fund https://t.co/mxbao5nbW9
Over 23,500 have signed Cody's Law at https://t.co/QJOsgslmMp please add your name to the petition. pic.twitter.com/QWWuil4Q6K

— Stratford Town FC (@StratfordTownFC) April 17, 2023

To support Cody’s Law, sign the petition here, or donate to the Cody 23 Fund here.

(Top image: designed by Samuel Richardson; Dan Vann pictured left by Rob Tanner; middle photo by Steve Wood and Paul Grant)

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