Chris, your listeners will recall that 25 years ago, 56 supporters lost their lives and hundreds were injured as fire engulfed the stand at Bradford City’s ground.
When tragedy struck, humanity surfaced. Human beings helped each other regardless of the colour of their shirts. On that day humans acted like heroes and links remain in place today.
Last December, Millwall and Charlton Athletic played a charity match to highlight the alarming issue of street violence.
This match was dedicated to the memories of two young boys, Jimmy Mizen and Robert Knox, murdered in 2008 for standing up to violent thugs. Jimmy had links to Millwall and Robert had links with Charlton and for this match the team shirts’ logos were replaced with the words ‘street violence ruins lives’.
You see football can be a powerful tool to drive change. Funds raised by the match went to help young people get out of crime and into positive activities.