Sixty soccer “stars” to play for 60 hours

SIXTY veteran footballers from Warrington – average age 60 – are to play five-a-side soccer for 60 hours in memory of two of their team mates who died tragically.
The North West Dads & Lads are a group of footballers who have been playing together for 25 years in their home-town of Warrington.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend – May 1 to May 3 – they plan to play 60 hours of five-a-side soccer to raise money in memory of Ian Doherty, aged 56, who died last year from a heart attack and Adam Lewis, aged 24, who died last June from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.
Over the years, 60 different men have played in the group and there is still a core group of six who have been playing throughout.
In honour of their two team mates and to raise funds for their families’ charities, the rest of the team, have organised an epic footballing challenge – a 60-hour continuous five-a-side game at the LiveWire Great Sankey Leisure Centre, where they have always played.
Over the 60 hours, around 60 players will take part, each player  completing a minimum of 10 hours play.
All funds raised will be divided equally between The Adam Lewis Effect Foundation and The British Heart Foundation.
They kick off at 9am on Friday.
Organiser Martin Brennan said: “We love football and our weekly games have been a regular fixture for 25 years, so when we lost two of our number within a few short months last year we knew we wanted to do something special to remember them and raise cash for charity.
“It would be great to see the Warrington community supporting, financially or morally, as it’s going to be very hard on some not so young legs!”
Neil Lewis, trustee of The Adam Lewis Effect Foundation set up in memory of his brother, said “This event means so much to us – as a fledgling charity, this will help us to raise some much needed funds and awareness.
“Our plan is to promote the importance of healthy living in young people across Warrington, and provide cardiac screening for as many young people as we can. Not only will this event help us to reach our financial targets, it will also help us to reach out to the Warrington community and share with them our goals.
“The dedication we have seen from the players and the event volunteers is fantastic – we just need the Warrington community to come over throughout the weekend and show their support. We really hope to do Ian and Adam proud”.
Pictured: Some members of the Dads & Lads Team  (left to right) back row:  Pete Carroll, Kyle Carter, Andrew Patton, Alex Humphreys,
Bob Billingsley. Front row: Colin Williams, Francis Williams, Pete Lewis, Loz Carter, Tony Biddle