Charity football match generates hospice cash
A CHARITY football match between the police and Rochdale’s diverse communities has raised more than £1,000 for Springhill Hospice.
Rochdale’s Bangladeshi Arts and Sports Association (BASA) organised a match against a GMP team at the Crown Oil Arena on Monday, May 23, which raised £1,100 for the hospice.
BASA is a voluntary organisation founded in Rochdale in 1990 which aims to promote community cohesion and tackle social exclusion, in particular through the power of sports and arts.
Doliz Miah, who organised the ‘Community Cohesion Cup’ for BASA said the match was an ‘historic event’ – even if GMP ran out winners on the day.
He said: “Over the last 12 months BASA and GMP Rochdale have been participating in multiple different sporting activities and social events to demonstrate that grassroots sports can be one of the key mediums for community cohesion, building stronger relationships within a diverse community and a platform where any person can be a part of.
“To celebrate the collaborative work, we decided to arrange a football match and between us we looked at other organisations within the borough who have similar objectives and this is where The Community Trust at Rochdale AFC worked with us to create this event here today.”
Last year the group launched a 10-week fitness project at Apocalypse Training Systems gym which saw 30 men aged between 35 and 55, from both BASA and GMP, training together.
Doliz, who lives in Norden, says he hopes the ongoing work with GMP and the football match will lead to people seeing police officers as human beings first and foremost.
He added: “Collectively we decided that we would raise money for Springhill Hospice and a huge thank you to all the spectators who came and supported both teams on the day.
“We also had a minute’s silence in remembering a life long supporter of Rochdale AFC, my father in law – Dave Dale who unfortunately passed away on April 27.”