Raising funds to help Jay and his family in this heart breaking time.

There is much more to life than football. Unfortunately, as a club, we have felt this emotion first hand in recent weeks.

Earlier in February, we tragically lost one of our own, Laura Ainsworth (fiancée of our central midfielder Jay Harris) who was just 37 years of age. Laura was a beautiful soul who always put everyone else first – she made a lasting impression on everyone who knew her – especially those who lived in the village of Breaston.

Living just around the corner from our home pitch at Breaston Park Laura often came down to watch the team along with her two wonderful children Sophia (7) and Rex (3). It was always a delight for the team to have additional support.

The past few years had been incredibly difficult for the family to endure, with Laura fighting off breast cancer (on her own in hospital) in the midst of the global pandemic. Having successfully done so to everyone’s relief, things were looking up for the family in 2021 – with a new extension on the way. Jay spent as much of his free time as possible trying to get things done, missing a few games in the process to put his family first.

Unfortunately though, just weeks after the families once in a lifetime trip to Lapland in December, Laura was then diagnosed with a brain tumour – later passing in early February. It hit everyone for six and we simply cannot fathom how the family are feeling.

It is now time for us to show support of the family.

As a club, our aim is to raise £5,000 to help fund the completion of the family house, whilst also helping to alleviate any immediate financial concerns. We will be embarking on a memorial walk, from the City Ground (Nottingham Forest FC) to Pride Park (Derby County FC) in which the aim is to show that the football community sticks together no matter what.

We are truly heartbroken with the news and want to do everything we can, so if you are in a position where you can help Jay and his children with a small or large donation we would be extremely grateful. Nobody deserves to go through the pain the family have gone endured the recent years, so we want to show the family how much they are loved and hopefully putting a smile back on their face by doing so.

Thank you for reading,

The Players and committee of Athletica FC (Long Eaton Sunday League)