Celebrity charity football match returns to Southport FC this summer

Southport FC’s Charity Match returns to Haig Avenue on 1 August, and it promises to be even bigger than last year’s event, which raised over £48,000 for families across Southport.

Kieran Malone, co-owner of Southport FC said: “The money goes to the families affected by the Southport attack. The money is used for counselling, physiotherapy, anything the families whose children sadly passed away might need,”

Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine, were killed whilst attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop at the Hart Space in Southport in July 2024.

This year’s match will feature celebrities such as Tony Bellew, Liam Smith, Still Ryan and Toni Duggan, with Everton and Liverpool legends John Aldridge and Ian Snodin managing either side.

Dylan Thomas-Smith and Philip McGuinness from the cast of ITV’s hit show G’wed will also be taking part.

Kieran said: “It’s been a few months planning, and there’s some bigger names coming up, but I can’t give them out yet!

“It’s a great day, it brings a great community feel and obviously it raises a lot of money, but it brings everyone together and all the families were so happy with it last year.

Kieran, alongside his business partner David Cunningham bought the club last year: “Last year, we basically just had four weeks and being new to the club, it wasn’t easy.

“We called in a few favours from celebs, we had Jamie Webster playing last year. We’ve had longer to run at it this time.

“Even down to staffing, we didn’t know all the staff’s names, we didn’t know where some of the light switches were or anything, so this time it should be a lot easier and run a lot smoother.”

Hoping to double last year’s total, Kieran told The Guide what visitors can expect from this years match: “We’ll have live music, food stalls, DJ’s, face painting and mascots.

“It’s a fun-packed day, it’s not just a game of football. All the celebs turn up so the kids get chances to meet them and get photos and get stuff signed, so you’re not just stuck in the stands and can’t get near the players.”

Tickets for the Charity Match at Haig Avenue are now available at Southport FC’s website.

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