Ex-Wales star Collins attends 1876 fundraiser
FORMER Wales and West Ham defender James Collins was in Bangor last week as his football academy was running a soccer camp at Bangor University’s Treborth playing fields, writes JONATHAN ERVINE.
The Euro 2016 squad member also spoke at a fundraising event held at the university’s Reichel Hall.
Bangor 1876 director of football Iwan Williams has described last Friday’s fundraising event with former Wales captain “a phenomenal evening”.
He added: “I was really nervous beforehand but everything flowed! David James helped a great deal as MC and with James’ honesty, some of the stories he told were unreal!”
Bangor 1876 fan Kev Taylor said that “the whole event was fantastic”. He also commented that “you could see what Bangor 1876 means to everybody”.
Williams was pleased that those attending the event had a good time, and that it also helped to support good causes.
He noted that “we managed to raise a lot of money for both the development centre and the mental health charity Mind, which is fantastic, and I can’t thank those who attended enough for their generosity”.
He also expressed his gratitude to Richard Bennett and Sam Wallwork from Bangor University and to the university’s Eat Drink Bangor catering service.
The evening involved Bangor 1876 once again working closely with Bangor University, and the catering and conferences team played a major role in what was a highly successful event.
The evening brought with it several unexpected elements that contributed to the occasion.
Williams said that “the night was rounded off when James wanted to go with the supporters and share a beer or two!”
Collins even served drinks to customers at the popular pub in Upper Bangor, which came as no surprise to the director of football. “That’s the type of person he is”, Williams commented before adding that “he even pledged a £500 donation to our development centre which tops it all off”.
The football camp was attended by over 100 local children aged between five to 14 years old.
The event was a major success despite the stormy weather, with the organisers being able to make use of both indoor and outdoor facilities on the Thursday and Friday.
The team of coaches present at the event included Williams.
Williams stated that “it’s fantastic to have someone of James’s profile up in North Wales and especially at our home ground” and added that the former West Ham defender now “knows a lot about Bangor 1876”.
He also said that the football camp was “brilliant despite the weather”, and added that “the children never moaned and it was hard to get them to come inside to stay dry”.
Prior to the event, Collins described North Wales as “a hotbed of football” and talked of his delight at having the opportunity to work with pro-licence coach Iwan Williams as he works towards his own coaching badges.
Bangor 1876’s scheduled Gwynedd League fixture against Bro Goronwy was postponed due to their opponents not being able to raise a team.