Our D3D4 Scunthorpe United correspondent Bradley Mell reports on an event that is growing in popularity while raising money for a great cause. The Football to Amersterdam bike ride is another wonderful initiative that sees football doing its bit to help raise money and awareness for Protate Cancer. Each club can enter a team to represent them in this noble event as Bradley explains…
Football to Amsterdam
The playoffs are almost over, teams are beginning to release the retained lists and everything is about to quieten down for the summer at a club level. However, before we turn our attention to that small tournament called the World Cup, a considerable number of football league clubs will be involved in a charity event taking place on June 1st and June 2nd. Each year fans/players/coaches form a team and represent their club in a 145 mile cycle challenge called Football to Amsterdam, raising money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK.
As you may know I am the Scunthorpe United correspondent for D3D4 Football and so I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about this event for two reasons. The first being that it is an excellent cause and the more people that know about it the better.
And the second is that, for the second year in a row, the Iron will be represented by personal a friend of mine; Hayley Grice.
Last year, whilst working for the club Hayley took up the challenge alongside her mother Marie, cousin and club secretary Adam Grice and the now newly appointed Scunthorpe manager Nick Daws.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the experience last year Hayley will once again represent the Iron in June, this time alongside Lucy Brattan; who is riding in honour of her Grandad Dennis who unfortunately lost his battle with Prostate Cancer in 2017.
The association between Prostate Cancer UK and football is already a longstanding one. For my own club, Scunthorpe United, there are often multiple collections throughout the season as well as the charity being the main shirt sponsor during the 2015/2016 season.
Beyond the club the Man of Men logo can be seen in grounds up and down the country and notable ambassador Jeff Stelling can be seen wearing the pin-badge on Soccer Saturday every week. All of which raises the awareness and promotes the connection between the sport and the charity.
This connection is an incredibly important one as it was recently revealed that Prostate Cancer has overtaken Breast Cancer in regards to high death toll.
1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer, while the odds for black men are just 1 in 4. That means that one man dies every 45 minutes from prostate cancer in the UK; over 11,000 men per year.
With such statistics it is fortunate that following the start of the Football to Amsterdam initiative in 2013, where 35 people took up the challenge, the event has grown exponentially each year so much so that now 400 riders participate and a grand total of over one million pounds has been raised since the start. Last year alone took £600,000 as a result of the event.
This year, just as it is each year, fans have the option of two routes. A southern route beginning at the Lee Valley VeloPark, or a Yorkshire route starting at Barnsley’s Oakwell stadium. At the end of the first day an overnight ferry will be taken from Harwich and Hull where the challenge picks up in Holland for Day Two. Both will cover 145 miles in total and culminate in Amsterdam at Ajax’s Amsterdam ArenA.
Since she is representing Scunthorpe United Hayley will naturally take the Yorkshire route which, as mentioned, begins in Barnsley. On the first day she and the other cyclists will clock up 70 miles travelling across South Yorkshire through Doncaster and Goole before stopping at Craven Park in Hull.
As well as the distance, the first day features a number of steep hills along the route, one near Mexborough and one near Swanland; all of which adds to the challenge. Having taken the overnight ferry Day Two begins in Rotterdam Port and will take them through Hook of Holland, Scheveningen, Wassenaar and Amstelveen before arriving at Amsterdam ArenA. Though the second day is 75 miles instead of 70 it is comparatively simpler with the terrain being much flatter, though having cycled 70 miles on the previous day this is by no means an easy task.
Hayley and Lucy are hoping to raise £2000 for the event and with a few weeks to go find themselves just short of their target. Their JustGiving page is linked below so please take a look and share this article to help them reach their goal.
I think we can all agree that this is an incredibly noble venture from all the club representatives taking part and wish them the best of luck in what is sure to be another successful event. Football to Amsterdam can be followed at #F2A or have a look at the site listed below for more information about the cycle event and Prostate Cancer UK in general.
Just Giving – Fundraising for Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer UK – Get Involved – Football to Amersterdam 2018 info