Wolves fans spot-on with Cure Leukaemia fundraiser
Wolverhampton Wanderers fans are taking part in a 24-hour marathon penalty shoot-out at the club’s famous Molineux stadium to raise money for Birmingham-based charity Cure Leukaemia.
The challenge, which starts today and ends at 10am tomorrow (Saturday), has been organised by lifelong fan and ‘They Wore The Shirt’ author Steve Plant.
The intention is to try and raise £10,000 for Cure Leukaemia and promote awareness of the illness, which has several unwanted connections with the Black Country team.
Former player Geoff Thomas continues his recovery from the disease and has since gone on to be a leading ambassador for the charty, helping to raise thousands of pounds by taking part in events such as long-distance cycle rides.
Now, the club’s number one goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme has been diagnosed with the condition.
The penalty shoot-out was opened by Wolves’ goalscoring legend Steve Bull and it continues until 10am tomorrow after which the ground will be prepared for the Championship curtain-raiser against Middlesbrough.
Supporters can donate £5 to take three spot kicks, with a number of special guests set to take part over the 24 hours and ‘on-the-spot’ prizes for the best finishes, trick shots and saves.
‘Top Bins’ are also being fitted ‘Soccer Am’ style and anyone nestling the ball in one of these will be awarded a certificate and placed in the draw to take a penalty at half-time during a future Wolverhampton Wanderers fixture.
“Carl has been at Wolves for more than 14 years, starting off as a young lad at Molineux,” said Mr Plant.
“He’s one of our own and was one of the first players to have a copy of the book I wrote; that’s why the news hit me so hard and spurred me on to do something to help.
“We are hoping more than 500 fans will take part over the 24-hours and we expect more than 2,000 penalties to be taken. It’s open to all ages…just come along and see if you can put the ball in the net like your heroes Richards, Doogan, Bull, Keane and Dicko have done in the past.”
Supporters can secure the right to take three penalties by texting ‘CARL24 £5’ to 70070 and bringing their text receipt with them. There will also be the option to pay on the day, but priority will go to those that have texted in.
Following the recent announcement that Middlesbrough Academy player Anthony Renton is also suffering from leukaemia, the decision has been made to open up the challenge to Boro supporters travelling to Molineux.
Ryan Leister, one of a team of volunteers supporting the event, said: “As supporters, we always think we could do a job on the pitch so here’s a perfect opportunity to prove it whilst raising money for a great cause.
“Judging from social media there are already a number of challenges brewing and we know there will be some high profile head-to-heads. We want people to capture these and get involved on Facebook and through twitter, the latter using #pens4kemes. There is even talk of a live 24-hour Periscope feed to catch all of the action.”
The penalty shoot-out challenge, which is being sponsored by Alliance Commercial Finance and B&D Tyres, will be followed by a fun-day on September 2, between 12 noon and 6pm.
It will be held in the WV1 Bar at Molineux and will feature a host of Wolves players from the 70s to the present day, including Kenny Hibbitt, John Richards and members of the current squad.
