Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes North, has wished local football club MK Dons the best of luck as the FA Cup kicks off its 150th anniversary season this evening (05/11).
AFC Sudbury and Colchester United will go head-to-head in tonight's clash to mark the start of the 2021/22 competition proper after months of qualifying rounds.
The competition was first set up during the 1871/72 season as the FA Challenge Cup and has been a yearly event except for during the war years.
Ben attended a 150th anniversary celebration event in Parliament earlier this week and is wishing MK Dons luck for a good cup run as they begin their journey at home to Stevenage tomorrow.
They will be hoping to repeat their cup run from 2012/13 where they reached the fifth round of the competition which included beating the then Premier League side Queens Park Rangers away from stadiummk.
Ben Everitt MP said: "I was delighted to attend the FA Cup's 150th anniversary celebrations in Parliament this week as despite being a big rugby fan I do know how important football is to so many people across Milton Keynes and the country.
"And sport is vital to both our physical and mental health so I'm glad the Chancellor announced in last week's Budget that £205 million will go to grassroots football to fund up to 8,000 state-of-the-art community sports pitches.
"I also want to wish Liam Manning and his MK Dons team the best of luck in their first round match against Stevenage tomorrow."