THE Aston Villa ‘Lions and Legends’ have named their squad for the Forces Support Charity Football Festival match at Stratford Town’s DCS Stadium at 3pm on Sunday, May 18.
The Villa showcase XI, who will meet a former Coventry City side and compete for the E-Lites Trophy, includes many of the big names who played in Aston Villa’s European Cup winning squad from the 1981/82 season such as Nigel Spink, Ken McNaught, Gordon Cowans, Tony Morley and Des Bremner, together with Gary Shaw who will be attending the event.
All money from the day will raise funds for Forces Support, who operate all over the UK. They provide practical support for bereaved military families. This help for the families of the fallen sounds simple but has shown to have hugely beneficial effects for those left behind.
Ken McNaught, who played for Villa in their famous victory over Bayern Munich, said: “I would personally like to thank all our former players for giving up their time to come and join our Legends side for this very worthwhile event. We are all very much looking forward to this match and raising money for Forces Support.”
Bill McCance, founder of Forces Support, said: “As with the Coventry City side, there are some fantastic names in the Villa showcase team playing for our charity. I know all the Villa fans that come along for this event are going to be thrilled by seeing their heroes in action.
“I would also like to thank E-Lites electronic cigarettes for all the support they have given us to make this event happen.”
Several places remain for supporters from each side who wish to take the opportunity to play for 15 minutes in the second half of this match. A fee of £200 will be charged which will be used as a donation to the charity.
Places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Please e-mail Brian Seymour-Smith at [email protected] for details.
The full Villa squad is: Nigel Spink, Neil Cutler, Ian Ward, Ken McNaught, Pat Heard, Colin Gibson, Bryan Small, Des Bremner, Gordon Cowans, John Capaldi, Tony Morley, Ryan Amoo, Lee Hendrie, Darren Byfield, Martin Carruthers, Ben Petty, Dean Smith. Gary Shaw will also attend.
