Memorial football tournament raises £5,000 for St Ann's Hospice in Little Hulton

Memorial football tournament raises £5,000 for St Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton

A charity football tournament for St. Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton has raised over £5,000 in memory of Amanda Duckworth.

Amanda Duckworth was a patient at Little Hulton Hospice and sadly passed away earlier this year. Her partner and her former employer, Luxury Leisure, wanted to do something special to honour her memory and raise money for the organisation that cared for Amanda.

Amanda had organised football tournaments for the past five years and every year the group would choose a different charity to raise money for. This year, the group chose St. Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton to give back for the care they gave Amanda and raise more money than any other year.

Some of the players at the tournament. Photo courtesy of Adele Turner.

Adam Gill, the area manager at Luxury Leisure, worked with Amanda’s partner, Adele Turner, to organise the football tournament this year in Amanda’s name.

Amanda was very loved at work as she had been working there for nine years. Adele said: “When she passed so many people from Luxury Leisure were so upset and they wanted to make sure they did something to honour her.”

The different teams at the tournament. Photo courtesy of Adele Turner.

Amanda loved football and doing these tournaments, which made this one even more special. Her partner Adele added: “She loved football, she was a massive Blackburn Rovers fan. She loved organising these tournaments and watching acting like a real football manager.”

The football tournament took place on September 3 this year. St. Ann’s Little Hulton hospice welcomed Adele and Adam Gill, the area manager at Luxury Leisure, for a cheque ceremony this October.

‘Duckworth’ printed at the back of one of the shirts. Photo courtesy of Adele Turner.

Everyone at the tournament had ‘Duckworth’ printed out on the shirts to remember Amanda.

The tournament’s cup has also been renamed as ‘Amanda Duckworth Memorial Trophy’ to make sure every year she is remembered for doing such wonderful work and helping others.

This means so much to Adele, as she said: “She’ll always be there now, even if it’s for a different charity each year, it’s a way for her to always be a part of it.”

The new Amanda Duckworth Memorial Trophy. Photo courtesy of Adele Turner.

Adele feels so proud and grateful to have been able to do this in Amanda’s honour as she said: “I want to thank everyone who donated, everyone who attended and played and Luxury Leisure for honouring Amanda in this way.”

The money will help St. Ann’s Hospice to take care of more people like Amanda Duckworth in the moments they need it most.