Video: Dad John Daly is thrilled with the success of event
Soap stars, ex-pros and parents went head-to-head on the Meadow Lane turf on Saturday for the 2016 Awareness for Autism charity football match.
The charity, based in Ilkeston, was set up by John Daly in 2013.
He was inspired to act by what he says is a lack of services for his two autistic sons, Toby, 8, and Seth, 4, as well as other children on the spectrum in the Notts area.
football is the best way for raising awareness of anything
He said: “We discovered that there was maybe 40 or 50 different families in Ilkeston alone that were all in the same boat as us.
“Very very quickly, what started off as an idea to try and get families doing different events and stuff together catapulted and before we knew it, it had gone a bit crazy.
“I always spout on about this but I’m a great believer that football is the best way for raising awareness of anything.”
“Getting the lads out there was just unbelievable. We even got three current County ‘first-teamers’ on the pitch.”
Alan Smith, Mike Edwards and Kevin Pilkington were joined by the Magpie’s Head of Commercial and Events Richard Cokayne in the game.
Richard said: “It’s a great cause first and foremost for us to help them (Awareness for Autism), Autism East Midlands and the Shaun Barker foundation. It’s a total no-brainer as to why we would have the event here.”
Video: Some of the celebrity players explain their motivation for taking part
The teams were captained by ‘This is England’ pair Andrew Ellis (Gadget) and Kieran Hardcastle (Kes).
The former even did a DJ set during the event’s after-party which also took place at Meadow Lane.
Image: This is England stars pose for their captain photographs
Others stars of the small screen took to the field including James Hooton who plays Sam Dingle in Emmerdale, and Richard Mylan who is best known for his portrayal of Simon Lowsley in Waterloo Road.
Mylan’s ten-year-old son Jacko is on the autism spectrum.
Ri chard added: “It’s amazing what Jon is doing because he’s like a go-between between the professionals and the families. He helps people from diagnosis to beyond.
“People like him are incredible.”
The event is expected to return in 2017 for what will be its third installment.
It has not yet been announced how much this year’s event raised.
