There are kids in the UK with football strips and boots that they no longer need. There are kids in Liberia who could make good use of that football gear. We want to raise money to send those bags of football gear by air or sea direct to Liberia.
Let's see if we can pass those valuable materials on!
I've been visiting Liberia for 25 years now and one thing I can say for certain is that it's a football country. In some countries they play the game, but in Liberia they live it. So it's like the North East of England where I come from: we love our teams and it sometimes feels like they mean more than life or death.
I met Millennium Stars FC in 1997 and was part of the project that brought them to the UK in 1999. I kept in touch with many of that squad over the years, and they are still organising community coaching for kids - every week for free! 20 years on, the Millennium Stars are still going strong, despite civil war and Ebola.
When I got the chance to work in Liberia again in 2016, one of the first things I did was set up a team. It was completely by chance, almost a reflex action! But the link between football and Liberia had got under my skin. That team is Lions FC, which has also expanded to include Lions FC Girls and Baby Lions.
For the last few years, I've taken football strips with me on every trip I've made to Liberia - two or three kitbags each time, all of which have gone to kids' football teams.
It's not just Millennium Stars and Lions FC, but an increasing number of community teams, with names like United FC, Junior FC and Young Barcelona. I try to hand them a full set of kit and a printed code of conduct explaining that being part of a team means they should also be model citizens in the community, and stressing that the most important thing for them to concentrate on is their education.
Now, it looks like I have more spare strips in my house than I can manage to carry on my own, and even more have been promised! To send by air or sea, you have to pay, of course, and the price goes up depending on the weight. So, can we get together over Christmas to raise some funds to send them all? (And get ready for the next load?)
Pass It On! takes place on Boxing Day - December 26, 2017. I'll be walking up to 15 miles with a ball at my feet. Why not join me?
- A sponsored walk-with-a-ball for 15 miles.
- The more who join in, the more fun it will be.
- Shake off the Christmas lethargy.
- Sponsor me or someone else if you can't make it in person.
- If you've promised strips, keep them coming! Ideally, a full set of shirts, socks and shorts for 11 or more players is perfect. If you can include something for goalies, that's even better. If you can find boots and a football as well, then that's the full package. Balls and boots are the most difficult to get and the quickest to disintegrate in our harsh conditions!
£2000 would cover the costs to fill an entire 20ft container. But whatever we raise, I will send the amount of gear that it covers. And I'll still take two or three bags with me on the plane in January!
- A number of people in different football clubs in Consett, Washington, Durham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield, Hull and other parts of the UK have given me strips in the last few years. It would be great to make permanent links with some or all of those clubs so we can build on this in the future.
- If you don't want to join Pass it On! with me on Boxing Day, but want to chip in with some other fundraising, that would also be welcome. You could do your own sponsored walk-with-a-ball, or, say, for example, you teach a class, they might want to pay a pound to wear their football shirt to school one day. And then they can donate the shirt as well!
- If your family or workplace is looking for an alternative to Secret Santa or charity gift cards, why not have a "Wear Your Football Shirt To Work" Day? Or sponsor someone to join me on Boxing Day?
Sounds like a good idea? Then pass it on!
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