Bottesford Family Football Festival raises £4,000 for Kidney Care UK
A charity football tournament has raised more than £4,000 for a cause close to the organisers’ heart.
Alice Carline, of Bottesford, hosted the Bottesford Family Football Festival on Saturday, June 7, aiming to raise as much money as possible for Kidney Care UK.
The charity supported her boyfriend Alfie Morley, a teacher at Redmile Primary School, who has lived with kidney disease since birth and who in 2022, aged just 21, received a life-saving transplant from his mum.
A total of 13 teams took part in the five-a-side tournament on the day, held at Bottesford FC.
It was followed by a party at the Rutland Arms, and there was also a bouncy castle, soft play, bar, barbecue, and raffle to keep spectators entertained.
“The weather was luckily on our side,” Alice said.
“It was a really good funday, we’ve done really well. We’re very happy with how it went.”
A grand total of £4,070.57 was raised on the day.
The Bottesford couple wanted to raise money for Kidney Care UK in order to give back to the people who’d helped them, as the charity’s support had been vital to the family during Alfie’s transplant process.
Ahead of the tournament, Alice said: “We want to raise as much as possible. It’s just incredible the amount of support Kidney Care UK gave us. We can’t thank them enough.
“A lot of people don’t realise it’s a mental journey as well as a physical one, and with their support, and connecting us to other patients, you don’t feel as alone.”
The funds raised will be added to the pot of more than £6,000 already raised by Alice, Alfie, and Alice’s brother George Carline’s London Marathon run fundraiser, and donations can still be made via their Enthuse page.
The tournament is also not the end of their endeavours — as Alice had to pull out of the marathon this year due to injury, she will run next year. Alfie and another friend also plan to join her.
“Because of how well it went over the weekend people want us to do the tournament again,” she added.
“We’re just trying to decide now how big we go.”
She also thanked the fundraiser’s sponsors and supporters, many of who were local businesses who planned to continue to support the funday going forward.