Bridges begin at the Wall’s end as Tyneside cements its Far East links
BOYS CLUB’S TIES WITH HONG KONG CELEBRATED AS GEORDIE DUO RETURN TO TYNESIDE
THE bond forged twixt Wallsend on the banks of the Tyne and former British colony Hong Kong more than 6,000 miles away will be recognised and strengthened next month.
The annual dinner of Wallsend Boys Club to be held in the Grand Hotel Gosforth Park on Friday, October 11 will be an opportunity to pay homage to an unusual link forged through exiles carrying the word into Asia.
Two former boys club players who now reside in Hong Kong are flying over to attend the special night when World Cup winner and former Newcastle United manager Ossie Ardiles will be guest speaker.
Tony Sealy launched a top-notch playing career with the likes of Southampton, Crystal Palace, QPR, Leicester City and Sporting Lisbon after learning his profession at the boys club as so many have before and since.
Tony is now the director of operations at Hong Kong Football Club and he will be accompanied to Tyneside by Neil Jensen, the managing director of UK Mortgages Limited.
They, together with a third exile, Chris Vale, a top lawyer who covers Asia, are the backbone of the Wallsend operation in a city currently undergoing political turmoil.
“Tony and Neil are coming an awful long way and they are bringing with them the Masters Trophy we won at the Hong Kong Citi Soccer Sevens this year,” boys club chairman Steve Dale told me. “That is a symbol of all we’ve achieved in the way of a partnership.”
The HK branch of Wallsend BC was formed in 2014 but its roots go back a further decade to when Sealy, on a visit home, approached Dale with the idea of “putting something back into a club that helped shape our young lives”.
Tony explained from Hong Kong: “It was the WBC 50th anniversary dinner, the first time I had been back since leaving for Southampton in 1976, when I promised Steve Dale after witnessing the commitment and pride in the club that night, that I would bring a WBC vets team to HK one day!
“I thought that with our network, tournament and facilities, Hong Kong should be introduced to our little gem in the North East and at the same time tap in to the love of football in the local community and generosity for the right cause.
“We flew by the seat of our pants in the early years with many a sleepless night. So to finally lift the trophy this year was particularly pleasing.”
Wallsend’s ambition now stretches a lot further than just playing annually in Happy Valley.
They have launched a programme that sees under-privileged kids given the opportunity to join the coaching classes dominated by ex-pats and rich Hong Kong Chinese without having to pay the required fees.
HK may be a seriously wealthy city but a million people live in poverty.
Chris Vale revealed that the Three Musketeers were determined to model what they do in Hong Kong on the values learned while playing at the boys club as kids: “That it’s about far more than football, it’s about how we do things.
“In Hong Kong values like that are critical as it is not the keenest and best who get to play normally but the ones that can afford the facilities.”
Vale emphasised that the Wallsend aim is three-pronged. As he says: “Fifteen Po Leung Kuk kids are fully funded through the HKFC junior soccer programme. We kit them out fully, feed them afterwards, and they train with all the other kids at Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday mornings though no one knows they are funded by us.
“Po Leung Kuk is a foundation that supports underprivileged kids in HK and all of our kids live at the school. Ideally some of these young
sters, most of whom are under 10, will stay with the WBC HK programme and progress to play for HKFC. After that, who knows!
“We fund 20 kids from a local government school with no outdoor space so that they can train once a week at HKFC with licensed coaches.
“We have a community outreach programme for 15-20 kids in an underprivileged area of HK (Tuen Mun in the New Territories) and we provide coaches and pay for the facilities and kit.”
The charity application of Wallsend Boys Club HK is lodged with the authorities and they are hopeful that, despite the government not allowing sports to be registered as charities, the things they do beyond football will bring an acceptance.
Neil Jensen, an equally proud Geordie, explained how they imported superstars from the North East to lead their drive in Hong Kong.
“At the time, it was all about getting WBC on the map out here and involving former players where possible,” Neil told me. “It took time to start to capture hearts, minds and wallets. Initially we needed to fund our involvement in the Sevens so we got Peter Beardsley to do a dinner on the Friday night for 40 private clients of HSBC. That was the start of the Wallsend lunches and dinners.
“We’ve since had Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott over as ambassadors – Big
Al is coming back in November.”
The Gosforth Park dinner next month will be an occasion dripping with nostalgia. Apart from the Hong Kong boys Wallsend will also be paying tribute to two football teams both celebrating their 50th anniversary. United’s European Fairs Cup winners headed by Bob Moncur are the big hitters, though just as important internally are the first team boys club legend Peter Kirkley formed upon transferring from Willington Quay and Howdon. The Boys of 69, as they have become known, will be present in force.
Everything will be topped off by Ossie Ardiles, who will be backed on stage by those from the boys club, Lee Clark and Alan Thompson, who made their Magpie breakthrough under the Argentinian.
York City boss Steve Watson cannot appear, but Robbie Elliott is hoping to come across from America and the likes of John Watson will also be in the audience. ■■Tickets cost £400 for a table or £40 per individual and are available from wallsendboysclub@gmail.com or 0191 263 9490.
In Hong Kong ... it is not the keenest and best who get to play normally, but the ones that can afford the facilities Chris Vale