Newbury pair's Premier League stadium charity fundraiser
Thousands raised in aid of Big Match
TWO local footballers raised thousands of pounds in aid of last month’s Big Match by travelling to the grounds of all last season’s Premier League clubs in a single weekend.
In an effort to raise the £2,000 required to let them take to the field in The Big Match charity game, Nathan Seymour, a service manager, and Paul Holland, a PE teacher at Park House School, travelled more than 1,400 miles, making it to all 20 stadiums in just 43 hours.
The annual charity game, which this year took place at Newbury FC’s Faraday Road stadium, aimed to raise funds for Action for Children and The Brain Tumour Charity.
Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News, Nathan said: “It was very tiring and by the end of it we were a little bit smelly, but it was worth it.
“We played 80 minutes of The Big Match and have raised £3,748 for two fantastic causes.
“Some of the grounds were fantastic. Aston Villa was special, it’s a really old and proper traditional ground, and St James’ Park was huge.”
Local players are encouraged to raise a total of £1,000 to take part in the game and so the pair faced the task of raising double that so they could both take part.
To make sure they raised as much money as possible Nathan and Paul, who are both coaches for AFC Newbury under-eights boys teams, also decided to organise a football and netball tournament at Park House School, with the help of Nathan’s wife Rachel and Paul’s partner Hannah.
Nathan said: “We got 15 football teams and 13 netball teams.
“The tournament was a big chunk of the fundraising and we couldn’t have done that without my wife and Paul’s girlfriend.
“We also have to say a massive thank you to Ridgeway for the loan of the car in the pictures that they kindly had sign written.
“Also to Penmar Transport, GJB Haulage and Ford Freight for their kind sponsorship of fuel for the trip.”
This year’s Big Match raised £50,000 for the two charities.
You can still sponsor Nathan and Paul through their fundraising page by visiting http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ and searching for ‘Nathan Seymour’.
