News Article
Thousands of Youngsters Set to Take Part in The Claire House Cup
140 teams from across Merseyside and Cheshire will take to the pitches for two full days of footballing fun in memory of Elliot Wild.
A youth football tournament in memory of a Wirral school boy is set to have thousands of youngsters take part to raise funds for a local children’s charity.
The Claire House Cup, which will take place on 23rd and 24th June at Wirral Rugby Club, will see 1,500 children from across the region play to raise money for Claire House Children’s Hospice. The event is held to remember Higher Bebington Junior School pupil, Elliot Wild.
Elliot passed away in 2011 at the age of nine following a battle with leukaemia. Crazy about football and Liverpool FC, Elliot was cared for at the Bebington-based hospice during the last few weeks of his life.
Claire House Children’s Hospice offers care to children with serious and terminal illnesses, as well as support for their entire family. Through expert nursing care, therapies and experiences, the hospice helps bring back a sense of normality to family life.
In the last six years the Claire House Cup has raised £114,835 and to date a grand total of £250,000 has been raised in Elliot’s name.
Jackie Wild, Elliot’s mum and organiser of the event was last year named Liverpool Echo Fundraiser of the Year 2017 and was also shortlisted for the Pride of Britain Fundraiser of the Year.
“We can’t believe this will be the seventh year of the Claire House Cup, the event has grown from strength to strength and this year we had a record number of teams apply to take part, it even caused the website to crash!”
“Elliot was a huge football fan and we couldn’t think of a better legacy to remember our beautiful boy.”
“We would also like to thank all of our family, friends, work colleagues, event sponsors Bagnall and Morris and trophy sponsors Neston Building Supplies who help and support us every year, we wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” said Jackie.
This year Jackie hopes to raise £25,000 to help Claire House reach every child and family who need their support.
Gillian Nove, Director of Income Generation at Claire House, said: “Claire House is currently only reaching one in two of the children that need our support with the help of the Claire House Cup with can continue to reach out to even more seriously ill children.
“The Claire House Cup is such a great weekend of fun and the atmosphere is brilliant for everyone. Jackie and her family, as well as all the volunteers and sponsors, work so hard to make sure it is an amazing weekend, so we’d like to thank everyone who makes the event possible. Good luck to all the children and teams involved!”
If you are an experienced referee and would like to help during the tournament please call 0151 343 0883. To find out more about Claire House Children’s Hospice visit www.clairehouse.org.uk.
