FOOTBALL: MP thanks club for donating old shirts for Africa

MP Mark Pawsey visited Rugby Town Juniors FC at the weekend to accept the hundreds of football shirts, shorts and socks which have been donated.

Mark met with the club in January to help launch their appeal and has been delighted by the huge response from both players and supporters.

The kit will be sent to Rwanda, which Mark has visited on two occasions over the past few years as part of the great work being done through Project Umubano, a Conservative Party Social Action Project.

Speaking after collecting the kit Mark commented: “Once again the people of Rugby have proved their generosity.

“I am amazed at how much kit has been donated by members of Rugby Town Juniors FC in such a short amount of time.

“Whilst it might seem like a relatively small gesture to us, I know that people in Rwanda follow the Premier League closely and so these kits really do mean a lot to them.”

Mark concluded: “Since I launched my appeal for football shirts, the people of Rugby have sent thousands of football shirts to those less fortunate than ourselves.

“I was delighted to be able to join Rugby Town Juniors as this year marks the 10th anniversary of Project Umubano, which has helped the people of Rwanda following the terrible conflict there in 1994.

“I am looking forward to returning to Rwanda this summer and seeing the progress the country has made thanks to our support.”

Mike Iland, of Rugby Town Juniors FC added:“Our facilities at Kilsby Lane are probably amongst the best in the country but we must never lose sight of those less fortunate and this gesture will, we hope go a long way to improving their enjoyment of the game.”