Fund in memory of young footballer set to hit £200k

Wyrley Juniors player Liam Keeling died in October 2009, two weeks after celebrating his 13th birthday.

The fund to raise money for Meningitis UK was set up within weeks of his death by his devastated family. And now their latest fundraising event – a comedy evening starring Bobby Davro – is set to send the total donations past £200,000.

The youngster, a year eight pupil at Cardinal Griffin RC High School in Cannock, was a promising midfielder for Wyrley Juniors under-13s Panthers, feeder club to Walsall FC.

He had just celebrated his 13th birthday when he became ill with a headache and sickness.

The youngster was resting on the sofa of his Cheslyn Hay home when he was discovered unconscious and he later died at hospital.

Parents Andy and Georgina have dedicated hundreds of hours to organising events and running the campaign.

And they are determined to carry on until a vaccine is finally developed for meningitis.

A large part of the money has been raised through Wyrley Juniors FC, where Andy was joint manager.

The memorial fund's chairman Richard Holmes said: "We never expected this to happen when we started.

"We knew we needed to get Andy back on track and do something in memory of Liam, and it has done us proud over the years.

"It has eased Andy's pain and has achieved more than we ever imagined we could."

The evening at the suite at the Banks's Stadium on April 24 will feature former Eastenders star Bobby Davro with Gary Marshall. Tickets are £35 and the price includes a two-course meal.

A presentation will be made to charity bosses to celebrate the £200,000 mark being reached.

Among the challenges taken on by fundraisers over the last six years are a 201-mile trek around Northern Ireland's coast, 40 cyclists taking on 15-mile routes around Walsall, and an dinner featuring ex-Wolves, Albion and Walsall star Don Goodman.

Another event led by former Wolves boss Dean Saunders generated £8,000, with football shirts signed by former ex-England captain Bryan Robson, Manchester United's Ryan Giggs and the Wolves squad auctioned off.

Postman Mr Keeling and his colleagues also tackled the Yorkshire Three Peaks of Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in just 12 hours.

And volunteers cycled 200 miles from The Hawthorns to Newcastle United's St James' Park ground, arriving in time for the Baggies' final match of the season in 2011.

Money will go towards Meningitis Now's Search For a Vaccine Campaign. It aims to raise £7 million for research into developing a vaccine against Meningitis B – the most common form of meningitis in the UK.

A Wyrley Juniors XI took on Walsall All Stars made up of former players including Dean Smith, Mark Taylor, Paul Hall and Mark Rees.

An £800,000 artificial sport pitch at Liam's old school was opened in 2012, named after the popular teenager.

It was created following a joint project between the school and Cannock Chase Council and has been funded by the Football Foundation.

It is open for community use on evenings and weekends and other schools can use the pitch during the day.

At the time of his death, Wyrley Juniors co-manager Shaun Flaherty said Liam was nicknamed Bobby Charlton for his goalscoring skills.

He added: "He never had a bad word to say about anyone and would not harm anyone and being one of the tallest members of our team he was a true gentle giant."