Hornchurch director says charity football club training ahead of fundraisers restart

Spencer King, from Hornchurch, helps to run Essex Charity FC which was formed last year in a bid to generate cash for a host of good causes.

The team has around 25 games booked in for the rest of the year, including against the likes of Arsenal Legends and YouTube personalities.

Government restrictions to ward off the spread of Covid-19 has meant that people have been unable to attend sporting events since the start of the pandemic.

Spencer said: “Obviously with lockdown and the Covid situation it has had a massive impact on the grassroots game.

“We are hoping that we receive good news from the FA as soon as possible for a restart.”

He revealed the team has been conducting socially distant training in the meantime, adding: “There are specific guidelines that you have to adhere to but for us it was important to do this given many of the individuals involved with the club have been massively impacted during the current pandemic.

“It acts as a release for them and gives them just a short period of time where they can forget everything else going on in the world by doing something they love.”

Spencer, who is a business development manager for a Colchester company that supplies cameras for vehicle fleets, said he got involved with the charity late last year.

Explaining why, he said: “The reason I wanted to get involved in the running of the club is I could see the massive benefit of using the love of the game to raise money for charity but also by giving individuals an opportunity to play for causes that are close to their heart.

“Mental health awareness is a big part of what we do and is something that affects myself so I wanted to join the running of the club to raise awareness for this specifically and also to try and help local communities with our work.”

The team, which plays its games at Witham Town FC, has its next match planned for August 14 raising money for mental health charity Mind.