Sheffield football game held to honour Harvey Willgoose
A football match has been held in honour of teenager Harvey Willgoose, who died after being stabbed at school in February.About 200 people attended the game at Beighton Miners Welfare Club in Sheffield, which raised money for Harvey's Hub - a youth club that has been set up in his memory.No Knives United ran out 2-1 winners over Goose FC, with the latter team captained by Harvey's sister, Sophie, who organised the event.Ms Willgoose said the match had given her something to focus on.
She said: "Harvey was always nagging me to get back into football, to play for Goose FC, his team, and as soon as we lost him and we were thinking of ways to raise awareness and money, I thought this was the perfect opportunity."I know he will be with us today, watching, and we will have done him proud."
Harvey died on February 3 when he was stabbed twice in the chest at All Saints Catholic High School.A 15-year-old boy admitted manslaughter but denied murder at Sheffield Crown Court in April and is being held in youth detention custody until a murder trial, which is set for 30 June.Harvey's mother, Caroline Willgoose, said it was special to hold the event on Father's Day."It means the world to us, especially being on Father's Day as well, for Mark [Harvey's dad], and his sister."It's a team that Sophie used to play for and her grandad was manager of the team when she was a little girl."So many friends and relatives and people who don't even know us have come down. I'm just chuffed to bits."
Mrs Willgoose said the event was also about raising awareness of knife crime.She added: "We need to get out there the devastation that knife crime brings – what it's brought to the community, to his friends, to us, to the staff at the school, to the kids at the school."Rachel Crowder, who played for Goose FC, said it had been a great atmosphere."The girls have all clubbed together. It's been a brilliant opportunity to support Sophie and the family," she said."The girls put a shift in on a really hot day, some of whom have never played 11-a-side. It's been a privilege to take part."
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
39 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Sam Thompson joins final minutes of Soccer Aid charity match as England player
Reality TV star Sam Thompson managed to play the final few minutes of the Soccer Aid charity match, having previously pulled out due to an injury suffered on his 260-mile fundraising run. The Made In Chelsea star had said he could not play for the England team after being injured while completing the Match Ball Mission running and cycling challenge, which raised more than £2 million for Unicef. But Thompson made it on for the last few minutes of the charity match, broadcast live on ITV, which also saw Hollywood's Julia Roberts chatting to Wayne Rooney and Dermot O'Leary apologising to viewers for a Tyson Fury 'f-bomb'. The match at Old Trafford, which sees an England team of former professionals and celebrities take on Soccer Aid World XI FC, raised more than £15 million for the aid organisation. The I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! winner injured his calf during his challenge where he transported the Soccer Aid match ball from last year's stadium, Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, to Old Trafford. On Friday, he announced that he would no longer be able to play and instead join the management team alongside Fury, however minutes before the final whistle, Thompson joined the Old Trafford pitch as a player. Before Sunday's match, O'Leary 'profusely' apologised to ITV viewers after the heavyweight champion swore live on air while giving the England team a pre-match talk in the locker rooms. He said: 'Let them know how good we are. We are England. We are f****** Spartans. We are Spartans.' Presenters Alex Scott and O'Leary apologised afterwards, with Scott saying: 'What can I say about Tyson Fury? We do apologise for the swearing, but it is Tyson Fury, we don't know what's going to happen.' O'Leary added: 'We do profusely apologise.' The game ended with a 5-4 win for the Soccer Aid World XI team, with the final goal being scored by rapper and TV chef Big Zuu. Among his teammates who joined him to celebrate was former Argentina and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez, who scored four goals for the World XI. Prior to lifting the trophy in the air, singer Robbie Williams – who co-founded the charity game in 2006 – announced this year's had raised £15,280,163. Pretty Woman-star Roberts, who has described herself as a 'true fan' of Manchester United, was seen taking photographs at Old Trafford, smiling next to the former England striker Rooney, who, minutes into the game, scored the first goal for England. Among the England team line-up alongside Rooney were former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson and Olympic gold-medallist Sir Mo Farah. Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey also joined this year's England team along with comedian Paddy McGuinness, former Manchester United player Gary Neville and singer Tom Grennan. Last year, the match ended with a 6-3 win for England, with the Three Lions taking home the win for the first time in six years. Since the fundraising match was first founded nearly two decades ago, it has raised more than £106 million.
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Horse racing risks being DESTROYED if Reeves pushes ahead with tax raid on online gambling, MPs warn
HORSE racing risks being destroyed if Rachel Reeves pushes ahead with a tax raid on online gambling, MPs warned today. Senior Labour and Tory politicians urged the Chancellor not to whack up betting levies. They say it could wipe out 'one of the crown jewels of UK sport and culture'. The Treasury is considering a new flat-rate remote betting and gaming duty, under which horse racing bets would be taxed at the same rate as online gaming and slots — despite being less profitable. Such a move would discourage bookmakers from promoting the sport, leading to fewer bets, it is claimed. In a new report, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock said the tax would bring job losses and economic pain for towns such as Doncaster, Cheltenham and Newmarket. Labour MP Dan Carden said: 'I'm calling on the Government to secure a fair funding model, protect jobs and allow horse racing to thrive for future generations.' And Tory MP Nick Timothy added: 'Horse racing is one of the crown jewels of British sport and culture. Nobody will forgive ministers if their decisions lead to its decline.' The MPs' concerns are backed by voters, with polling for the APPG showing two-thirds see horse racing as key to the identity of race meeting towns. The racing sector contributes £4.1billion to the economy and supports more than 85,000 jobs. 1
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
National inquiry into child grooming scandal should never have taken so long
Belated justice THE Prime Minister has finally agreed to a national inquiry into the child grooming scandal that has seen countless young white girls raped and abused by mostly Asian gangs. It should never have taken so long. For decades councils, police and officials turned a blind eye to the appalling crimes going on under their noses, supposedly to protect 'social cohesion'. The pain and suffering of girls as young as ten was apparently judged a price worth paying to avoid community tensions. That is appalling. Most of the known grooming cases happened in areas where the local Labour authority relied on the Asian vote. But this is not just an historic scandal. As recently as January, Sir Keir Starmer and others in the Government accused those calling for a national inquiry of 'jumping on the band-wagon' and 'amplifying' the far-right. Now he has made yet another U-turn — almost certainly because he has been forced to, rather than because he's suddenly realised it's the moral thing to do. The inquiry findings are unlikely to reflect well on his party, but there can be no more cover-up. The politicians and officials who allowed this scandal to carry on for so many years must be held to account. Trigger point NO sane person is comfortable with the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. But Israel's precision bombing of Iran's nuclear development sites and military leaders is hardly unprovoked. Iran's mad mullahs have been waging war on Israel, through their terrorist proxies, for years. With their avowed intent to destroy Israel, Iran's rush to develop nuclear weapons in breach of international agreements presents an existential threat the Israelis could not ignore. But Israel is not just defending itself by thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions — it is also making the world safer. Moderate Iranians despair at how their hardline leaders have squandered the country's wealth to fund a murderous ideology. Anyone fighting the Tehran regime's corner is blinded by the same anti-Israel hatred. Daft punt LABOUR'S nannying backbenchers might reckon ramping up tax on online horse-racing bets is a safe punt but senior MPs — on both sides — know better. It would hammer a sector that employs thousands of voters, and decimate horse-racing and other sports that rely on gambling revenue. Rachel Reeves, with her previous tax decisions, has already shown a habit of backing losers.
