Worthing fans in a packed house delivered a standing ovation on Thursday.

The Vanarama National League south club will be on the same bill as Arsenal and PSG on Tuesday.

It is all down to film as well as football - and club owner George Dowell is delighted about it.

Supporters packed The Dome cinema in town for a premiere showing of the documentary The Club That George Built.

It tells the story of how he used some of his compensation money to revive Worthing FC after he was paralysed by a serious car accident.

On the pitch, director Theo Lee Ray and his team followed Rebels through a season which saw them look to challenge Yeovil at the top of the table, then slip away either side of Adam Hinshelwood’s departure to York City, then come roaring back under the guidance of Aarran Racine, only to lose a thriller of a play-off final.

Football landmarks included the first ever visit of TV cameras to show a game live.

There is also a close look at how George and his family coped with the news that he would never walk again.

How he was left in the depths of despair and then took the chance to buy his struggling local club, where he had played as a youngster, in their hour of need.

As well as their revival at first team level, securing two promotions, he also turned them into a thriving community club.

The Argus were present on a night of celebration of the best of Worthing and the town's beautiful, 113-year-old independent cinema, with a brisk sea breeze blowing outside, was a fitting venue.

The film looks closely at George’s everyday life off the field with devoted partner Jessikah, including the challenges and joys of starting a young family and the crowning moment as he receives the MBE.

There were cheers at the end, and when Ollie Pearce scored the winner in the play-off semi-final, laughter at times and some highly emotional moments too.

Valuable contributions come from Hinshelwood, Racine, top scorer Pearce and several players plus supporters and club staff, as well as George’s mum.

Theo admitted many interviews had to be cut out due to time constraints.

Access to the changing room on matchdays adds another dimension – and many members of the audience seemed surprised and amused by the industrial language used behind closed doors.

Theo said: “To tell the whole story in 70 minutes is almost impossible and to give enough people credit is also impossible.

“In some ways we have done George a bit of a dis-service because he takes every opportunity to say how it was a team that has created this and we just cut that stuff out!

“Because it’s the club that George built and it’s his story which is so powerful.

“Certainly there were so many people who played a part in this.

“And trying to deal with the ups and downs of the season was also unbelievably hard.

“There were moments when we thought we were planning for a team who were going to finish in mid-table.

“There were times when we thought we were planning for a late promotion push.

“And we had no idea what was going to happen in that final game.

“We interviewed so many people who didn’t make the cut and that is just because there are so many people who make the club what it is and it was no slight on anybody who didn’t make the cut.

“There are so many good people here.”

There were tears shed in the opening part of the film as George’s life is turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

But he is delighted the film captures the essence both of the football club and the town.

He said: “The first 20, 25 minutes are quite hard for me to watch and enjoy but I feel like it tells the story really well.”

The Club That George Built will be shown at 10.30pm on Tuesday by TNT Sports, after they have screened Arsenal v PSG in the Champions League.

Worthing’s focus switches now to tomorrow’s FA Cup third qualifying round tie at home to Dartford.