Kilmarnock Football Club's youth programme has signed a new £20,000 sponsorship deal with a local firm that boasts a global reputation.

Booth Welsh Automation (BWA), the rapidly expanding control engineering company based in Stevenston, serves customers as far afield as Brazil and Singapore.

The new season long sponsorship deal between BWA and Kilmarnock FC will allow the club to continue to develop their youth programme for players aged 10-17.

John B Welsh, chairman and founder of BWA, said: "Our whole family are Killie supporters so it was an easy decision to support the youth set up at Rugby Park. I feel strongly that the future of the club will depend more and more on the development of the youth policy so I am delighted to be able to help.

"Hopefully this will be a rolling sponsorship deal. While our company enjoys growth we will continue to help Kilmarnock grow the next generation of footballing talent."

The funds will be used to buy training and match day kits and to cover travel and match expenses. The money will also help with the employment of Kilmarnock FC's youth coaches, all of whom are SFA accredited.

Michael Johnston, chairman of Kilmarnock Football Club, said: "We are very grateful to the Welsh family and BWA for their generous support.