A junior football team is raising money to realise their dream of playing in an international tournament in Rotterdam.
Toxteth-based under-13’s side Kingsley United have set up a GoFundMe to help with their efforts which has already raised over £2,000. The youngsters have taken part in various fundraising activities ranging from climbing Snowdon to washing cars and collecting money at the World in One football tournament.
Team captain Finn Rawcliffe sent a letter detailing his team’s efforts to football clubs and players across the country, with Liverpool FC donating a shirt signed by Diogo Jota which was auctioned off.
“It would mean everything to get to Rotterdam,” said Finn. “We’ve always thought, ‘What would it be like to play in the Champions League?’ We’ve always wanted to go abroad to play our football because we just want to show everyone how good we are.
“We climbed Snowdon which was really, really hard. We’ve done spot the balls, signed tops, we did a car wash which helped a lot. Liverpool sent me a Jota top and it was in my house and I could have kept it but I raffled it for the team! Everton have agreed to send a signed top as well.
“I’ve sent my letter to famous football teams, we’ve sent it to a lot of foundations, we’ve sent some to St. George’s Park and the FA. They haven’t been able to send us anything but they’ve said: ‘Good luck hope you get there!’ We’re just trying our best.”
Finn’s dad Kevin has helped coach the team for the last four years, while manager Wesley Butcher has been involved with Kingsley for over 25 years.
“We’re slowly but surely getting there, we just need a final push to make sure all the kids are paid for,” said Kevin.
“The Association of Northern Scaffolders have helped assist in the fundraising. We’ve had a lot of help from friends and family who have all come together.
“Fundraising does need to be brought into grassroots more because these kids need it in their lives. Some kids have got nothing, and we do what we can to help.”
Manager Wes echoed this statement, saying: “It’s why kids can lose interest in football, one week they play and then they don’t play for the next five or six weeks and it’s hard to keep that balance. It’s not enough.
“Tiber Enterprises’ facility where we train is absolutely outstanding and it’s right on our doorstep. For weekend games it’s hard to get here, we’d love to play here more. It’d be brilliant if you had more of these facilities. This year I think it’s got a bit worse, I think the council’s call the games off too early to be honest with you. I do think they need a big influx of funding to keep going forward.
“We’ve done it in the past, we’ve been to Skegness and raised for that. We want every one of the kids to go (to Rotterdam), obviously the kids have got different backgrounds, some kids have got more than others so we want it to be an equal playing field so that’s why we do the fundraising, and a lot of people have helped us along the way.”
Kingsley won a tournament in Skegness last season having already completed the league and cup double, and Finn credits his team’s close bond as key to their success and motivation to compete in more tournaments.
He said: “Our team, we try and keep kids from being in dangerous places. We bring players in and build friendships, and we just play to have fun and win games. I enjoyed making new friends when I joined, and I’ve been friends ever since with most of them.”
To help the team reach Rotterdam you can donate to the GoFundMe here.
