A football coach has managed to raise £11,000 for one of the boys in his disability team as part of a 12-hour football match this Sunday.

 

The monies raised will go towards a life-changing operation that would enable eight-year-old team member Billy Humphrey to walk for the first time.

 

READ MORE: Bicester coach organises football marathon to raise money for 8-year-old boy’s operation

 

Nearly 200 people attended the 12-hour long football marathon, at Whitelands Farm Sports Ground, on Sunday which benefited from sunshine and clear skies.

 

Football coach Adam Robinson said: “It was better than I expected. I was kind of hopeful that we have just enough people to get through the whole 12 hours, but we had more than enough, and we had to set up two or three pitches just to accommodate everybody.”

 

Eight-year-old Billy Humphrey has severe mobility problems but has never been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy by the doctors.

 

Without a diagnosis, he is unable to get the operation on the NHS, which doctors say he needs to be able to walk.

 

That means Billy’s parents must pay for the surgery to be done privately, which they said would cost approximately £85,000.

Bicester Advertiser: Around 200 people attended the 12-hour long football marathon to raise money for Billy's operation. Around 200 people attended the 12-hour long football marathon to raise money for Billy's operation.

So far, Robinson has been able to raise approximately £11,000 for the operation, which he said far exceeded their expectations.

 

He said: “Our target was ten (£10,000), and we managed to raise 11 today. We still got a raffle, and we've got some bits to auction off as well, which is really cool, so I'm hoping we might be able to get to sort of £15,000 if we're lucky.”

 

As thanks for his amazing effort, the football coach has now been named Volunteer of the Year by the Oxfordshire FA.

 

Earlier this year, the organisation asked the local football community to nominate the grassroots heroes for the 2021 FA and McDonald’s’ Grassroots Football Awards.

 

Robinson said: “It feels strange receiving an award just for doing something I love and believe in. Having said that, it’s fantastic that our team has been recognised by others as the fantastic group they really are – inspiring to be the best they can be, pushing boundaries each week and achieving what others told them wasn’t possible.”

 

Having worked previously with adults with autism, Robinson decided to set up the team in February 2020 after he moved to Bicester and found there was no disability team in town.

 

Ben Hillier, Chair of Bure Park FC, said he was proud of Robinson and of the players.

 

“Adam and the disability team are a testimony to what we aspire towards at Bure Park FC – inclusivity, inclusion, tolerance, mutual support and a love of football,” he said.

 

To support Billy’s wish come through visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/billyhumphreys

 

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