AnnouncementLFC Foundation's legends charity match raises £1m
LFC Foundation's legends charity match held at Anfield in March against Barça Legends has raised £1,000,000.
Reds CEO Billy Hogan joined pupils from All Saints Catholic Primary School at Anfield Sports and Community Centre to celebrate the news and enjoy a fun game of dodgeball.
As well as seeing in action some LFC Foundation programmes that will benefit from the proceeds raised, Hogan also met with representatives from Forever Reds and The Owen McVeigh Foundation, who will also receive donations from the £1 million raised.
The charity’s fourth sell-out fixture, which ended in a rare 2-1 defeat for the Reds, welcomed back a whole host of greats to Anfield, including former captain Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Luis Garcia, Maxi Rodriguez and Milan Baros, with Sir Kenny Dalglish as manager and Ian Rush as assistant manager.
The legends game, which has quickly become a fan favourite and is a marquee moment in LFC Foundation’s calendar, provides key funding to help the Reds’ charity to create life-changing opportunities for young people and families across Liverpool City Region and beyond.
Inside Anfield: LFC Legends v Barça Legends
One hundred per cent of the total proceeds raised will help to fund a variety of projects for the Foundation, including its employability and training programmes, and health and wellbeing programmes, with a focus on mental health.
This year, funds will also go towards supporting its charity partners, including Forever Reds, The Owen McVeigh Foundation, the Barça Foundation, and its Side by Side programmes with Right To Play.
Forever Reds is the club’s official former players association, which provides support to the club’s former players in need of care, particularly during the later stages of their lives. The Owen McVeigh Foundation provides life-changing memories for children and their families in Merseyside fighting cancer.
LFC Foundation’s Side by Side partnership with Right To Play is the charities’ joint international initiative overseas. Side by Side is delivered both in Liverpool and internationally, using the power of sport and play to teach key life skills to some of the world’s most underserved communities.
The Barça Foundation is FC Barcelona’s official charity, which supports the children and youth of the most vulnerable social groups through sport and education.
Matt Parish, chief executive of LFC Foundation, said: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the LFC family once again for supporting our legends match and helping us raise an amazing £1m, which will directly help create life-changing opportunities for young people and families across Liverpool City Region and beyond.
“It was great to finally be able to welcome people back to Anfield to enjoy another fun-filled legends game after such a long and difficult period due to the pandemic.
“Yet again our favourite legends did not disappoint, putting on a competitive game for everyone to enjoy, whilst helping to raise funds for our work, so we can do more and support more children, young people and families in our local communities and beyond.”
Mark McVeigh, founder of The Owen McVeigh Foundation, added: “We are so proud and grateful to be a beneficiary of LFC Foundation’s legends charity match.
“The funds we receive really do make a big difference and enable us to help more families who need support during the most difficult times in their lives. I’d like to thank both the club and the LFC Foundation for their continued support.”