Our students managed to raise a grand total £1,650 for charity after organising and playing a Mixed Team Charity Match, featuring players from the UCFB Wembley men’s and women’s teams.
The event initially had a target of £300, a target which kept increasing when the organisers saw the incredible response.
The target grew to £1,500, as around 170 people continued to donate on the JustGiving page, which is still open and available to donate at here.
On the day itself, many turned up to show support, with plenty of other fundraising initiatives on offer, including a raffle and a cake sale, which raised £120.
The game was tightly fought, with Team 2 scoring a last-minute goal to win the game 6-5.
Megan Abbott, captain of Team One and one of the event’s organisers, said: “I’m so pleased that we smashed our target of £1,500!
“The fact we initially had our target at £300 is overwhelming and just shows how brilliant people can be when raising money for a great cause.
“Cancer Research UK is a charity that helps to fund life-saving research, so being able to contribute to this is extremely rewarding for all of us, knowing that by playing a game of football, we could be helping to save lives somewhere.
“The match itself went extremely well, and I think it also showed that men and women can play together in a team and be successful!
“This event has definitely inspired me to try and encourage raising money for charity more frequently at UCFB - it has showed that it brings students together, allows them to showcase their skills within the sports industry and allows you to connect with a charity close to your heart to benefit a greater cause. After the feedback I received, more events are being discussed… so watch this space!
“I’m so grateful to everyone who put aside time to make cakes for us to sell, and to all of the organisations that donated a raffle prize for us to give away.
“I have to thank Lucy Casey, Shelley Howard, Oliver Graham, Jordan MacMillan and Alex Hayhoe for helping me organise this event- they were an incredible support.
“Jay Welsh was a big help for us, helping us sort the pitch space and even allowing us to have a training session before the big day.
“Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who attended the game or donated on our JustGiving page. Every contribution helped us reach our target time and time again. It makes me very proud to be a student at UCFB.”
To find out more about the football academies at UCFB, click here.
