THE SILVA BOYS YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM

In October Dave and Heather Rogers, of Uckfield Grasshoppers Youth Football Club, approached me regarding sponsorship of a youth football team in Africa. In his spare time, Lamin coaches a youth team in his village, Sanyang. I arrived in The Gambia with lots of the Uckfield Grasshoppers old kit, which mainly consisted of shorts, shirts, socks and a few footballs. The Silva Boys were over the moon with their new kit, as they had never before owned a proper strip. What concerned me the most was that the strips had been donated mainly by the under 9’s team, with the biggest size being 32”, yet Lamin’s team ranges from 14 to 19 years old and the kit fitted them all. During the time that I was in The Gambia the team played two matches decked out in their new strip and ……. jelly shoes! I think that football boots may well be the next items on our list! The Silva Boys drew both matches but their pride in looking like a real football team way outshone the fact that they didn’t win! On behalf of Lamin and The Siva Boys “Thank You Uckfield Grasshoppers”.