Football united for charity walk
Phil O’donnell’s daughter Megan to raise charity funds
The eldest daughter of Motherwell legend Phil O’donnell is set to mark the tenth anniversary of her dad’s death by walking a gruelling 96 miles in his memory.
Megan O’donnell, of Hamilton, will join with her father’s former Celtic teammates to commemorate his life while raising cash for charity.
The 21-year-old – along with Simon Donnelly, Jackie Mcnamara and Darren Jackson – will take part in the four-day challenge which will be rounded off with a climb up Ben Nevis.
Megan has also joined forces with ex-dundee United and Dunfermline player, Jordan Moore, who will also take part in the challenge.
Jordan was diagnosed with skin cancer at just 19 years old. He wanted to take part in a challenge to raise money for charity, and it just so happened that friends and family of Phil O’donnell wanted to mark the anniversary of his passing in a similar way.
Both have now joined together and will fundraise under the banner of ‘Football Unites’ in a bid to raise cash for Cardiac Risk in The Young (CRY) and Teenage Cancer Trust.
Megan told the Advertiser this week that she had always wanted to do something to mark the anniversary of her dad’s death, and knows the walk is going to be difficult.
She said: “It’s going to be a real challenge, but we are all up for it and we are doing it for my dad and the charities.
“I feel passionately about being able to fundraise for CRY as I know they really need help to have a base in Scotland. Right now they only have a base in England.
“They believe that young athletes from the age of 14 should be getting regularly screened. Perhaps this is something that could have helped my dad too. Early detection is the key to saving more lives.”
One of Phil’s good friends, former Celtic team mate Simon Donnelly, is delighted to help Jordan and Megan raise cash for the two charities.
He said: “It was really all Jordan’s idea to begin with, as myself and Jackie Mcnamara knew him when he played with Dundee United.
“We thought it would be a great idea to unite through the football teams and do something for these two wonderful charities.
“CRY is an important charity for Phil’s family and the screening process is something that should be looked at more in young athletes. I have three young boys myself and that is also something that motivates me. Screenings are important, and if we can stop it happening to someone else through helping these charities then we’ve got to give it a go.”
The group plan to complete the challenge in four days and set off yesterday (Wednesday). You can follow their progress on social media and donate at uk.virginmoneygiving. com/team/footballunites.