OLD FOOTBALL KIT used by a Moray club will be seeing an extended life on another continent.
Forres Area Soccer 7s has provided 60 old football strips to the ‘Taking Football to Africa and Beyond’ appeal.
The appeal is being run by RAF servicemen and women who are linked to the RAF Football Association, both well known to the Soccer 7s group chairman Shaun Moat who is a former RAF serviceman.
Shaun said: “I follow the appeal on Facebook and there was an article about the work of the charity and I thought we could help. I made contact with them to see if the logistics would be an issue but it was not.
“We will now look to donate all our old kits to this charity as we renew our sponsorship deals every three years and often have to buy new kits. It makes sense to get involved with the charity, we know that the kits are making a difference to children in Africa.
“We had had around 60 old strips going back over the club history that were just collecting dust and it was great going through them all as it told a lot about the history of the town.
“A lot of businesses that have sponsored us over the years are not in existence any more or are no longer involved with the club. It showed how the town has changed over the years.”
One of each of the kits used over the years by the Forres club is being retained for permanent display in their changing rooms in the pavilion at Grant Park.
Shaun added: “It will be great that we are able to give children the opportunity to play football and feel a part of a team.”
Taking Football to Africa and Beyond Appeal was set up by RAF Shawbury-based Wing Commander Neil Hope, who set up the appeal in 2006 and now works with the RAF Football Association as well as being a member of the English FA Council.
Neil said: “This is a fantastic donation and we are delighted with it. It has been made easier by the fact that RAF Lossiemouth is on the doorstep as the kits are being flown down to me from there.
“They have been put into the system but because of the nature of what we do, it could be anywhere of up to a year before the kits are distributed.
“To date we have distributed around 120,000 items including 39,500 football shirts. The kits and equipment gets given to the slum areas and it’s amazing the boost that it gives to children and adults alike.”