Written by @CharityFootbal3

Calling out to all football fans, a great opportunity has arisen to play at a local professional football stadium all in the name of charity. A friend of mine from work has decided to go ahead with hosting a charity football match and needs as much help as he can.

Please read his appeal, and help out in any way possible. A massive thank you to anyone that can help, specially The West Ham Way team for allowing Danny to use their website to spread awareness and @Hollseey for offering to help in any way she can.

“Hi everybody,

My name is Danny, I am a 28 year old guy and in most ways just the same as every other guy my age. 4 years ago I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, for me this absolutely rocked my world, as a guy that was always the life and soul of a group and the first to joke about any situation. With this new found information I started to bottle every little thing up and wouldn’t even speak to by best friends about anything, it was at this point it was when the suicide thoughts and attempts began to occur. After a few failed attempts and some harsh years, I realised I needed to open up it wasn’t until I rekindled my love for playing and watching the beautiful game that I found a new confidence to open up with how I was feeling. It was at this point that I spoke to ‘Mind UK’ – a charity that specialises in helping men with mental illnesses – who helped me immensely. Ultimately, I put football and Mind UK as the reasons I survived that tough time and I’m looking to give something back, while merging the two.

After a full recovery and fully being taken off any medication for it, I feel it’s my time to give back to Mind UK and also try to do my bit for football on behalf of and with all those with mental illnesses. With this idea, I wanted to do a yearly football match and bring everyone together to try and show that there is always somebody there for you in tough times. I have contacted Southend United to use Roots Hall for a charity football match and they have agreed, and this is something I plan to do on a yearly basis perhaps even at different stadiums.

The idea is to have two teams of 16 players, 11 starters and 5 substitutes. To play it costs £25 each; this would cover the cost of Roots Hall for the day. Entry to the stadium is £5 on the day, and there will be raffles and auctions there too as well as entertainment for children such as face painting. Auction items include salon vouchers for women, a signed West Ham United 2009/10 top and various other vouchers and memorabilia.

Each player is guaranteed to play, at least for an hour. The game is scheduled to take place in May 2019, with the official date to be confirmed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you can help by donating anything you can, even £1, I will be greatly appreciative.

 Thank you,

Danny Brumpton”

 If you wish to help out in any way, you can contact Danny using the following methods:

 Twitter: @CharityFootbal3

Facebook: Search ‘Charity Football Match 2019’ – the picture is the MindUK logo.

GoFundMe link: https://www.gofundme.com/brzrj-charity-football-match

Email: Danny.Brumpton@hotmail.com