I wanted to donate the shirt to the Cancer Fund for Children to give something back

I wanted to donate the shirt to the Cancer Fund for Children to give something back

16 November 2016

NORTHERN Ireland footballer Gareth McAuley has donated his signed football shirt to support a local children’s cancer charity.  

Two days after his side’s 4-0 win over Azerbaijan in a World Cup Qualifier at Windsor Park last Friday night, the West Brom defender joined team manager Michael O’Neill, skipper Stephen Davis and other players on a visit to the Cancer Fund for Children’s Daisy Lodge therapeutic short break centre at the foothills of the Mournes.

While at the facility outside Newcastle the defender, who scored one of his side’s four goals last Friday, launched a raffle to win the signed shirt he wore during Northern Ireland’s Euros 2016 match against the Ukraine in the summer when he also scored.

The Northern Ireland players selected the Cancer Fund for Children as their official charity for the Euros and visited Daisy Lodge last Sunday to see first-hand the difference residential support makes to the lives of families devastated by a childhood cancer diagnosis.  

After the tour of the first facility, of its kind in the UK and Ireland, the players had a meet and greet with families, tested their skills at ping pong and pool and also enjoyed a kick-about with some of the children. 

Defender McAuley said he has been lucky in football to have a lot of great experiences and to have some wonderful memories. 

“I wanted to donate the shirt to the Cancer Fund for Children to give something back, to raise as much money as possible for a great cause. The shirt is something that is very special to me, so hopefully it will go to a good place,” he added.

The charity’s corporate fundraiser, Sorcha Chipperfield, said it is “beyond thrilled” to have welcomed the Northern Ireland team to Daisy Lodge and to meet some of the families it supports.  

She continued: “The team and fans have been amazing, raising over £50,000 through the donation of match fees and charity collections at the fan zones in Belfast during the team’s matches in France. It is wonderful that Gareth McAuley is also donating his signed football shirt which we are raffling to raise even more funds to support local children affected by cancer. 

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Northern Ireland football fans to win a piece of local footballing history. Fans, and their friends and family, can enter the raffle at a cost of just £1 per ticket. The more raffle tickets you purchase, the more the chances you have to win and the more funds Cancer Fund for Children receive. It’s a win-win”

Every week in Northern Ireland another three children, teenagers and young adults are diagnosed with cancer. As the leading children’s cancer charity in Northern Ireland, Cancer Fund for Children understands the devastating impact a cancer diagnosis and treatment can have on the whole family and that beyond essential medical care there is a family life that needs to be rebuilt.

The charity offers practical, emotional and financial support as well as free short therapeutic breaks to local families whose lives have been affected by the illness.

Fans can take part in the raffle to be in with a chance of winning Gareth McAuley’s signed shirt by visiting www.raffleplayer.com/mcauleyshirt  or www.cancerfundforchildren.com