Fundraising footballers score a winner to honour Bradley’s legacy
Fundraising football fans turned out in force as the Bradley Lowery Cup returned to Sunderland.
On Saturday, the event hit the back of the net for the sixth time on since it was first held in 2016.
The annual gathering honours the six-year-old Black Cats fan who died in July 2017, as well as raising money for the charity named after him.
It has only missed one year since it was established – 2020 – when it was cancelled due to the pandemic.
This year, the cup took place at Sunderland LGV Park in Beechbrooke, Ryhope, and was hosted by Sunderland RCA, Orchard Care Homes and Lowery's Lads.
“I think I speak not just for ourselves but for everyone else too that the fight shown by Bradley inspired not just us and people in Sunderland, but also people across the footballing world,” said Jack Murray, 26, one of the organisers.
"If he can show that, it’s only right that we step up the fight against cancer too.”
A late injury saw Jack, a retail worker by trade, pick up the goalkeeper’s gloves for the day’s flagship fixture of Lowery’s Lads Vs Brad’s
Boys, which was eventually won 7-3 by the Boys, although Jack insisted it was a “great game for the neutral”.
It was also another successful day for the organisers, who predicted the final
fundraising total would be about £2,000 or higher.
As well as the senior tie, matches were also contested by Sunderland RCA under 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s youth sides.
There was also entertainment
for the less sporty in the form of a bouncy slide, food and drink stalls and a party.
Jack added: “We’ve been running this for the last six years, since we found out
Bradley had relapsed, and it’s our way of keeping his legacy alive.
"It’s just a group of lads who have been friends for years, people of all abilities and ages, joining together for the same cause and fighting under the same banner.”
Last year’s event was dedicated to Oliver Maw who was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in February 2021.