Although Faz Ahmed has only been at Upton for a couple of seasons, he has already made a huge impression on those he has met. His zest for life and insatiable passion for the game of cricket have combined to make him one of the club’s great entertainers and crowd pleasers. Players and spectators have taken him to their hearts and it is hard to predict exactly what might happen next when he is in the thick of the action.

Away from the cricket field Faz is currently studying at the University of Salford and is one year away from fulfilling his dream of gaining a degree in Business Management. Unfortunately Faz is currently faced with some financial difficulties in fulfilling this dream. Ultimately these difficulties could force him to leave Upton and the life he has built for himself here in the UK. You can read a bit more of his story below.

Hi, I am Faz, an undergraduate student studying Business Management at the University of Salford. I am currently on a placement year as Project Management Intern at the Salford Business School. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I am struggling to pay my tuition fee for the final year of my degree. I have high ambition of working in management after my degree however, I realize without the tuition fee I will never be able to achieve this dream of mine. During my time at the placement, I have organised the annual school ball and the takeover at the Salford Red Devils home game on behalf of my University. I have also been highly involved with the development and promotion of the FanFit app developed at my University by one of the lecturers. I believe these experience at my placement will hold me in good stead after my graduation. I am also on course to achieve a first. I have saved up as much as I can on my placement to pay for my tuition fee but unfortunately I am still £4000 short which I require by the end of August 2019. I have applied for loans and have been rejected as I am a Non-EU citizen and this seem to be my last option before I am sent back home to India without a degree.. I really appreciate your help in helping me complete my degree as I have struggled and worked hard for it. Feel free to contact me if you have any doubt about where your money is going and I will be more than happy to speak to you.

As team mates and friends of Faz we don’t think it would be right to just stand by and do nothing. Sometimes that can seem like the easiest thing to do but I know we would regret it deeply if we didn’t at least try to help him. None of us are oil-rich tycoons by any means so we thought that the best way to set the ball rolling was to dig out our running shoes and attempt a sponsored run.

As we need to try and raise funds fairly quickly and we only recently found out about Faz’s difficulties there is (fortunately some might say!) no time for us to really train for a major long-distance event. This is why we have decided to join Faz for the 5k Park Run in Birkenhead Park on Saturday July 20th.

We would love it if more people from Upton CC and the wider community wanted to join us either as runners or spectators. None of us are looking to break any records! We will be happy to get round in one piece, make people aware of our fundraising campaign and hopefully be in a fit state to play our matches later on the Saturday and the Sunday.

We are well aware that the target is ambitious but we hope that many people reading this will be able to help in some way. I know from personal experience that the club has benefited many of us in ways far beyond any monetary value. If we can give some hope to a valued team mate that he may be able to realise his dream and overcome the bureaucratic hurdles he currently faces we know it will bring great joy to his friends and family and all those who are currently trying to help him.

Once the campaign is completed all the money will be held in the Just Giving account and passed on to Faz in August as a contribution towards his tuition fees. If Faz should in the meantime succeed in raising all the money he requires through other channels, the money raised from the run will be donated to a suitable cause. Donors will be fully informed about exactly where their money is going in each case. Please try to help us in any way you can. This may also involve making friends and family aware of what we are trying to do. The campaign will run for a relatively short time up to August 12th so that all funds can be collected and passed on in good time. If people have other fundraising ideas we would be delighted to hear them.