Manchester United legend Paul Scholes will lace up his boots once again and take to the pitch in a charity football match later this month.
Budding football stars also have the opportunity to bid on a charity eBay auction to play alongside one of the greatest midfielders of a generation and raise vital funds for Stalybridge Celtic Juniors.
Scholes will come out of retirement to play in the annual Stalybridge Celtic Juniors Coaches vs Dads fundraiser on July 26 to boot the clubhouse renovation project closers to its £50,000 target.
Stalybridge Celtic Junior Football Club chairman, Garry Pearce, told MM he is really looking forward to Scholes supporting his son’s under-14 team at the event.
He said: “Paul kindly offered to give up his time. We’ve had a lot of interest already, and we’re really looking forward to the evening – we’re hoping it will give us a big lift.
“Some of the dads are training every Friday night like billy-oh! The first year the coaches won, and the second year the dads won, so there’s a bit of pride at stake this time.
“Most are treating as a bit of fun but don’t want to be shown up on the night – we’re all shapes and sizes…not all of these fellas look like Usain Bolt!”
Stalybridge Celtic Juniors was formed in 1975 and has teams from under 7 to under 18 as well as a Saturday morning Soccer School open to all children from 5 to 12 years old.
More than 300 children play every week and the club is run entirely by volunteers on a not-for-profit basis.
The current clubhouse is in a poor state of repair and is in need of substantial renovation throughout.
To make this possible the club is on the process of applying for ‘match funding’ from the Football Association meaning a fundraising target of £50,000 must be raised.
The match will take place at Stalybridge Celtic FC, Bowerfold, Mottram Road on July 26, kick-off is at 7.30pm.
To bid for your chance to play alongside Scholes, click here.
Picture courtesy of Jame Adams, with thanks
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
