With all eyes on Qatar during the World Cup break, a football club in Liverpool will be hosting its own tournament this weekend for a very special cause.
Liverpool Homeless Football Club will be hosting the Breast Cancer Awareness Cup on Sunday at Activity For All’s indoor 3G pitches in Bootle, who together with Rise and city legal firm Carpenters Group are sponsoring the event.
The Breast Cancer Awareness Cup is the final tournament for the club this season and all participating teams receive a medal. The aim is to not only raise awareness and making sure players have fun. The club was set up for people affected by homelessness in 2007. Since then, it has run yearly competitions for other good causes such as domestic abuse and dementia.
Our men's season is over but we have one last women's tournament left, Breast cancer awareness cup will be taking place on the 4th December, if you haven't already get your women's team booked in.#morethanjustfootball #breastcancerawareness pic.twitter.com/mItjqrIZIY
— Liverpool HomelessFC (@LivHomelessFC) November 2, 2022
Director of Carpenters Group, Donna Scully has always been a fan of the work done by Liverpool Homeless FC and counts breast cancer awareness as a cause close to her heart: “My friend who I’ve worked with in London, her breast cancer came back after 10 years. We’ve lost a couple of people at Carpenters to breast cancer as well.”
Scully’s stepdaughter lost her mother to the disease before being diagnosed herself eight years ago as she had the BRCA1 gene. Scully said: “She had a mastectomy, but the cancer came back a couple years later. She had treatment at the Marden in London so I went there with her. It’s a very tough journey.”
Cancer often needs to be caught early to ensure a higher chance of survival. Scully believes spreading information about how to spot the symptoms is important: “The football on Sunday is a way for us to get together to help raise money and profile for breast cancer. The really terrible stories are where people leave it undiagnosed and don’t react to their symptoms.”
Scully is no stranger to football charities. She has worked with Fans Supporting Foodbanks and champions the cause of Football for Change. With a cost of living crisis, a hike in energy bills and a stretched NHS, Scully said: “Community groups and charities have never been so important. They’re really like a third emergency service.”
The tournament begins at 10am and runs until 2pm, with cups and medals for the winners.
