Express & Star

Charity football match brings awareness of Crohn's Disease and star-studded line up to Halesowen football club

It was a day to see some big names take the pitch in a father vs son football match and also learn more about the effects of some debilitating conditions.

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Halesowen Football Club's ground The Grove was the setting for the Crohn's Charity Cup fundraiser on Sunday.

The football match pitted organiser Jordan Mitchell's team against his father Raymond's team, with both teams featuring some big celebrity names, such as professional darts player Luke Woodhouse, TV presenter Richie Anderson and two-time boxing world champion Kirstie Bavington.

Former West Bromwich Albion player Andy Johnson was also present as one of the coaches, as was former Aston Villa and Wolves midfielder Tony Daley.

Raymond and Jordan Mitchell lead the teams out.
Raymond and Jordan Mitchell lead the teams out.

As well as being a competitive match, the game and the day also served as a means to raise awareness of Crohn's and Colitis, the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease, and raise funds to help towards research for the diseases.

It was the latest fundraiser for 29-year-old Jordam, who said he suffers from Crohn's Disease and spoke about what he goes through on a daily basis.

He said: "I actively have to take a chemotherapy-style tablet each day and because Chron's is an incurable disease at present, I'm going to have to do this for the foreseeable future until new developments happen.

Jordan Mitchell takes on Richie Anderson during the match
Jordan Mitchell takes on Richie Anderson during the match

"This fundraising day, and the previous ones we've done, are all about giving back to the nurses, the fundraising and the development research side of Crohn's and Colitis.

"We've been able to hold the event at Halesowen because we've got a great relationship with the chairman Keith McKenna, who has a vested interest in this as he's had a similar experience himself, and it's just been the perfect match-up."

Mr Mitchell said he wanted to be able to win the match as his dad was currently 2-1 up in terms of the event wins, but said that raising up to £1,000 and raising awareness were the biggest aims from the day.

Andy Johnson was there to offer support and coach the teams
Andy Johnson was there to offer support and coach the teams

He said: "Every event we do is like a big social event and it's always got the purpose of getting people talking about Crohn's and raising the awareness of it.

"I can't tell you how many people come up to me personally or message me to say that they had no idea about this and how glad they are that I've spoken about this and they'll tell me about friends and family who have been through the same thing.

"I'm very lucky that I'm in a position where I can advertise this and raise awareness at the same time."

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