LEGENDSTO LINEOUTFOR THEHOSPICE
THE countdown is on for a highly-anticipated match that will see Manchester United legend Paul Scholes pull on his boots to raise funds for Wicklow Hospice Foundation.
Scholes and Stiliyan Petrov are among the impressive lineup of football legends who will take part in a charity match at Bray’s Carlisle Grounds in aid of hospice on Saturday, September 15.
Former United stars Keith Gillespie, Brian McClair, Jose Kleberson and Clayton Blackmore are also lined up to take part. Petrov will be joined by fellow Celtic greats Lubo Moravcik and Tom Boyd whilst Alan Kennedy and John Wark will fly the flag for the Liverpool supporters.
This star-studded team will play against a Wicklow Hospice Select Team, which is raring to go and hoping to put the English and Scottish club legends through their paces.
Fresh from leading the Irish Cerebral Palsy team to a bronze medal in the European Championships, Bray man Gary Messett will be taking to the field alongside a number of Bray Wanderers’ legends, including Colm Tresson, Kevin O’Connor and Matt Britton. They will be supported by some of Wicklow’s finest footballers from amateur clubs, including six warriors from the Garden County Over 35’s Football Club.
Wicklow Hospice Foundation is hoping for a 3,500-capacity crowd on the day and tickets are selling fast.
‘ The reaction has been phenomenal,’ said event organiser, Marie Kindlon.
‘Word is spreading fast and we even have fans coming over from England and Scotland for the event. These players are among the biggest and best football legends in the world’.
This is the first-time Scholes has played in Ireland since he retired from professional football in 2013 and it won’t be his last – ten days after the Bray match, he’ll be taking part in the Liam Miller Tribute Match in Cork.
It is hoped the charity match will raise significant funds for the new hospice in Magheramore, which is currently under construction and will open for the first patients next year.
Organisers hope to raise a six-figure total between sponsorship, ticket sales, grand auction and other activities planned for the day.
These include a lunch meet and greet with the legends and a black tie gala ball in the Arklow Bay Hotel later that evening.
Match tickets cost €10 each and are available from www. gr8events.ie.
Tickets for a limited meet and greet at the Martello in Bray cost €60 each and tickets for the gala legends dinner cost €60 each. Contact Marie at mkindlon@hotmail.com or (086) 3768898 or Sinead at (087) 0954137 or at sinead@ wicklowhospice.ie for further information.