Legends v Bayern charity match raises £1m

The LFC Foundation expresses sincere thanks to the LFC family for supporting the match, which saw Liverpool Legends take on Bayern Munich Legends at Anfield on Saturday March 24 this year.

During the sell-out game, which ended in a 5-5 draw, the likes of Robbie Fowler, Dirk Kuyt, Michael Owen and Xabi Alonso all got on the scoresheet.

Thanks to the money raised, the LFC Foundation has been able to provide £500,000 worth of funding to become an #iwill Fund match funder and delivery partner to engage young people in meaningful social action. The Foundation is acting as a match funder and awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund.

The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £40 million joint investment from the Big Lottery Fund, using National Lottery funding, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to support young people to access high-quality social action opportunities.Social action involves activities like campaigning, fundraising and volunteering - all of which enable young people to make a positive difference in their communities; developing their skills and knowledge, while embedding positive habits and behaviour change for life.

Captain of the LFC Legends team, Fowler, said: “Raising another £1m for the LFC Foundation is a fantastic achievement, and I couldn’t be happier knowing that it’s going to help fund projects like this, that give fantastic opportunities for local kids to prove themselves and make positive changes in their local community.”

James Harcourt, England grant-making director at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “This new partnership with LFC Foundation, as part of the #iwill Fund, provides an exciting opportunity to support young people to develop their skills and confidence. Thanks to National Lottery players we’re able to work with partners and their networks to reach more young people, enabling them to take the lead in creating new social action opportunities that benefit themselves and their local communities.”

Over a three-year period, the LFC Foundation will work with 24 Liverpool schools in areas of high deprivation to deliver 348 different social impact projects, all of which will develop the skills and knowledge of those taking part and will benefit wider society as the projects will be developed with their local community in mind.

Margaret O’Neill, assistant headteacher at All Saints Catholic High School, said: “We’re extremely excited to be involved in this project, and grateful to the LFC Foundation for approaching us and giving our students this fantastic opportunity. It will have such a positive impact on the students, encouraging them to be responsible and caring citizens and making them confident that they can make a difference.”

Ten per cent of the proceeds from the match in March have been donated to Bayern Munich’s charity, FC Bayern Hilfe e.V, while the remaining 90 per cent will be used to support LFC Foundation programmes and partnerships, aimed to create life changing opportunities for children and young people across Merseyside and beyond.

Other charity partners who benefit from funds raised at Legends’ charity matches and other fundraising activities include Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Into University and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.