A host of Welsh sport stars and TV personalities will unite for a Wales v England charity football match next month.
The likes of Ashley Williams, Joe Ledley, Owain Tudur Jones and Dave Edwards will lead the Wales team in the clash at the Swansea.com Stadium on May 11, with Chris Coleman back in the dugout as team manager. They will be joined by former Welsh rugby internationals Shane Williams, Rhys Webb, James Hook and Gareth Thomas as they swap the oval ball for the round one.
Love Island winner Liam Reardon, Ibiza Weekender star Jordan Davies and It's a Sin actor Callum Scott Howells will also be involved, with more famous faces set to be announced soon.
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Former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell will manage the England team, with former international Joe Cole, four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah and ex-England rugby captain Mike Tindall also on board. There will be some familiar faces turning up in Swansea too, with ex-Swans stars Nathan Dyer, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Leon Britton all signing up for the charity match.
YouTube freestyler Jeremy Lynch and TV personalities Calum Best and Chris Hughes have also been announced for the fixture while Dafydd Iwan and Rhys Meirion will provide the pre-match entertainment. More artists are set to be announced over the coming weeks.
The match is being brought to south Wales by two charities aiming to raise awareness of childhood cancer and raise funds for much-needed medical treatment and equipment. Swansea-based charity Joseph’s Smile and English charity The Bradley Lowery Foundation were set up by two families touched by childhood cancer.
Joseph Yeandle and Brawley Lowery both courageously battled neuoblastoma before passing away aged three and six respectively. Their mothers, Katy Yeandle and Gemma Lowery, both worked tirelessly to raise funds to access the bivalent cancer vaccine in New York but heartbreakingly, despite their efforts, neither of their boys made it there.
Having set up charities to illuminate their sons' legacies, the two families have united for the football match, with funds raised ensuring that children supported by each charity is one step closer to accessing the care and treatment they require. The charities support families facing similar challenges, assisting them for treatment not available on the NHS, and alleviating their burdens.
"We are thrilled to announce this charity football match, bringing together sports personalities, celebrities and our communities in support of childhood cancer awareness and highlighting the volume of children with life threatening and life limiting conditions fundraising for treatment," said Katy. "This event serves as a powerful platform to shed light on the struggles faced by the children and families we support every single day because no family should have to stand on streets with collection buckets, begging strangers to help them save or improve their child’s quality of life.
"We are immensely grateful to collaborate with our friends at the Bradley Lowery Foundation for this event and we would like to say a huge thank you to every single person supporting us to bring this event together, with special thanks to Chris, Sol, the players and all the spectators set to attend and support, and also the sponsors, without whom this game would not be possible. They are Westacres, SMS Technology, Trade Centre Wales, Trade Centre UK, Anonymous Marketing, Conquer Teamwear and The Georgian Hotel, Swansea.”
Gemma added: “When we first set up the charity back in 2017, one of our main aims was to work with as many different charities with similar to objectives to BLF, so to be able to work with Joseph’s Smile to bring this huge game, it’s amazing.
"Childhood cancer is like an elephant in the room, people don’t want to talk about it, it makes people uncomfortable and uneasy. By working together with other likeminded charities, we can help remove that stigma, which helps raise vital awareness. It’s going to be an amazing day for all involved.”
