Charity champions: Boro fans have already bid more than £4,000 to play alongside Bernie Slaven and Neil Maddison at the Riverside Stadium.
GENEROUS football fans are bidding to play at the Riverside for teams managed by Boro stars George Friend and Jason Steele whilst raising cash for amazing local causes.
Boro supporters can live their dreams on the evening of Wednesday, May 7 when they will also have the chance to play alongside Boro legend Bernie Slaven or BBC Tees commentator and ex-Riverside regular Neil Maddison.
Fans have already bid more than £4,000 to play for Friend or Steele, who will provide pre-match and half-time team-talks, as well as barking a few tactical orders from the side-lines!
The lucky fans will get to use the Riverside changing rooms, there will be an official team-sheet, they’ll walk out of the tunnel onto the hallowed turf to Boro’s ‘Power Game’ theme tune and their names will be announced over the stadium PA system.
Thanks to generous support from Middlesbrough firm MSV Sport, winning bidders will also get the keep the kit they wear – including shirts adorning their names.
Former World Cup referee George Courtney will officiate over the game, while there’ll also be professional photographs of the day for the lucky players to keep as mementos.
Best of all, the fans will be doing it for Teesside, as all funds raised from the match will be shared between a range of Teesside charities and community groups including Boro’s own charity, the MFC Foundation.
The match is being organised by Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation, a charitable movement that has already raised more than half a million pounds for Teesside good causes over the past three years.
Foundation chairman Andy Preston, a lifelong Boro fan and season card holder, said: “We’re delighted to be joining forces with MFC Foundation to provide what
promises to be a spectacular and memorable occasion for those supporters lucky enough to play.
“We’re particularly delighted that George Friend, Jason Steele, Bernie Slaven and Neil Maddison have agreed to take part in the game. All the profits will go to our work helping to make Teesside a better place live and work, supporting some of our amazing charities and community groups with much-needed funds.”
To take part in the game, fans can bid to play either 45 or 90 minutes in whatever position they prefer. They can also state whether they’d like to be in Friend and Maddison’s team or Steele and Slaven’s team.
Bids are now being accepted with the deadline being 9pm on Wednesday, April 30. Wannabe Boro stars can bid now to play in the fans’ match by emailing bids to riversidecharitymatch@gmail.com.
Bidders should put the position in which they would like to play in the title of their email, the amount of their bid and whether they wish to play 45 or 90 minutes. They will be emailed back to let them know if they are the highest bidder or if they need to increase their bid. Players must be aged 16 or over on May 7 2014.
Top bids can also be checked on Boro’s official website at mfc.co.uk.
The game will kick off at 7pm, with winning bidders able to bring up to four friends or family members, who will be given seats in the Directors’ Box. A pay bar will be available throughout the night.
