Over 500 goals in football marathon for five-year-old who died of heart defect
More than 180 players took part in an historic 11-hour-kickabout at Watford Power League, to help raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital
It’s not often that there’s 509 goals scored in a football game before the referee blows the whistle, but that’s what happened on Sunday, as 180 players took part in an 11-hour “football marathon” for charity.
In the event, Team Walrus beat Team Bear by 260 goals to 249, as the rain lashed down on the Jewish families raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital in memory of five year old Shani Berman.
The match at Watford Power League, in support of the Shine for Shani charity, was met with the first rain in two months, ensuring a wet epic, organised by Simon and Juliet Berman and a team of friends.
Starting at 9am, it featured men, women and children, the youngest three, the oldest in their late 50s, and as the teams battled for the World Cup look-alike trophy, they helped raise more than £10,000.
Shani was always told she had “a magic heart,” after she was born with a congenital defect which meant she had a hole in her heart and no valve linking her heart to her lungs. The little girl pulled through several complex and risky operations, but 18 months ago she passed away during the latest surgical procedure.
The family’s charity hopes to raise £70,000 over two years to support research into child heart transplants, with Shani’s mother having already helped to raise £29,000 for Cancer Research UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
- To find out more, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/shaniberman
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