Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'm raising money for Kick4Life to support their work in Lesotho. Where K4L deliver life-saving programmes across a variety of formats, primarily focused on using football as a tool for health education. You can visit their website here: https://www.kick4life.org/

For a while I've wanted to support those using football for good. Primarily because football has given me so much, and I want as many people as possible to have more opportunities to experience similar. Secondly, I've long been aware of the power of football, and I want to further support that power being used as a positive force.

Whilst reading Radical Football by Steve Fleming, the desire to take action was fueled further. The second half of the book explains the work that Steve and the team are doing through Kick4Life, the charity that he co-founded. The charity stood out to me for several reasons including:

1) The structure being future focused by being entrepreneurial (check out the No.7 Restaurant and Hokahanya Inn & Conference Centre)

2) The platform they have given to women's football, and the changes made to give equal support to the men's and women's teams

You can get a fuller sense through the website, Radical Football, or over a cup of tea with me.

I've also long been aware of the privilege of being born in the country I was, as a part of the family I was. So, whilst I'll continue to support the good work many are doing in the UK, I'm thrilled to be a small cog in the work happening in a developing nation. Lesotho has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV in the world, elevating the importance of the health education element of Kick4Life's approach.

£1,200 of the £2,850 is to cover my costs, so I will ensure that my personal contributions cover that amount as a minimum. Therefore, any donations made by others are going directly to the work Kick4Life are facilitating.

I will endeavour to raise funds in a couple of ways.

For now, I have confirmed my place on the South Coast Ultra Challenge. I will be walking 100km over 2 days on September 2nd and 3rd. I believe I can complete the challenge, but it certainly will be challenge and I've set a training plan for the first 8 months of 2023. I'll be balancing work and football alongside this, with another key goal of protecting my knees. Saturdays are my "long walk" days, so let feel free to suggest a weekend to walk with me. (Top tip: the earlier in the year you walk with me, the shorter the walk)

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.