A local charity football team have come together once again to raise funds for the Bradley Lowery Foundation.
Lowery’s Lads, a charity football team from Sunderland, have been led by 22-year-old Jack Murray for three consecutive matches – which have collectively been named the Bradley Lowery Cup.
Jack Murray, 22, from Thorney Close, started organising these matches after Bradley relapsed in 2016 and has continued them ever since.
He said: “It basically started off when we first heard that Bradley had relapsed in 2016. We thought: ‘we’ve been a part of a charity team before, we’ve done it in the past, so why not do it again?’
“This has led us to then forming the actual team, we asked Gemma (Bradley’s mother) permission to call ourselves Lowery’s Lads – after our hero, God bless him. This has then led to the charity games you see today.”
The team are aiming to do two to three events per year and split the funds between the foundation and another cause, which is chosen by the players.
Kenny Ashton, a 34-year-old DJ from Durham, volunteered to DJ the first event and has also went on to raise money by walking 327 miles from Bournemouth to Sunderland in aid of the Bradley Lowery Foundation.
He said: “We’re fortunate that we actually met Bradley. A lot of people who followed his story, they read everything in the papers, they saw everything online, on Facebook and everything.
“When you meet a kid like Bradley, it puts things into perspective. He lights up the room, he lights up everybody else around him.
“Anybody who has followed his story will tell you he made them feel better. You know, just seeing his smile: watching him out on the football pitch and the way everyone jumped on board to support him, it’s just unbelievable.”
Altogether, the matches have raised almost £7,000 for the Bradley Lowery Foundation, as well as other causes such as Frankie Sherwood, Hope Feeney, Jacksplace and Naomi House.
Jack added: “You wouldn’t have thought that he was the little boy that was ill. He had so much energy and passion, as a little lad should.”
The team are still taking donations to get to their aim of £1,000 for their third cup. You can donate at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bradleylowerycup3