The Quattro-Tech Westwood Road will be the place to be on Sunday 7 July as teams of legends from St Ives Town and Arsenal take part in a charity football match.
The match will be played to raise funds for the Children’s Charity, Sports Connections Foundation (SCF). The local charity was launched 14 years ago by former professional footballers and Ives players Junior McDougald and Richard Philp with the aim of using sport to transform the lives of children and young people.
McDougald who also hopes to be playing in the Ives legends team said “I would love to see past and present players, fans, and the local community come together to enjoy what promises to be a fun-filled and action-packed day. I am truly grateful to Paul Reason, Neville Nania, St Ives Town FC as well as Arsenal legends Nigel Winterburn and Jimmy Carter for their support in helping to pull together a team to help us raise awareness and much needed funds for such deserving children & young people who we are privileged to support”.
Since the charity was formed it has overseen the development of four main programmes which include Sporting Wishes – Making dreams come true for children and young people living with life-limiting illnesses. The Inspire Through Sport Programme has been created to help develop positive futures and exciting career pathways with a particular focus on those who face challenging circumstances. The Prokick Schools Challenge Initiative that has so far engaged with over 586,000 children and a small ITS International project that uses sport and education to help guide children away from a life of poverty.
Neville Nania manager of the St Ives Legends team has been delighted by the response of former St Ives players who are excited at the prospect of playing a part in the match against a team that will feature not only Arsenal Legends but special guests too. He commented “Everyone is looking forward to it, we will be trying hard to get Conor Washington back to the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road, which was the scene of his prolific goalscoring exploits before embarking on a wonderful professional football career with teams that include Peterborough Utd, QPR and Rotherham Utd as well as featuring on the international stage with Northern Ireland. We look forward to welcoming back lots of familiar old faces and new ones too for what I know will be an enjoyable day and one that we hope will make a big difference to SCF”.
Heading up the Arsenal squad will be SCF ambassador, Nigel Winterburn who played an incredible 584 games for the Gunners, winning 3 League titles, 2 FA Cups, 1 League Cup and a European Cup Winners Cup.
Winterburn said “I am delighted to be coming to St Ives Town in July with a team of Arsenal legends and special guests to support such a worthwhile charity. As an ambassador of SCF, I am fully aware of the excellent work that they do and the difference they make to children’s lives. The event will show how football can come together to raise money for such a worthwhile cause”.
As well as the football, there will be appearances by some special guests with events for all the family happening elsewhere around the ground. Further event information including details of who will be playing for both teams and ticket prices will be announced nearer the time.