QPR To Host Grenfell Memorial Cup
Final game will feature bereaved, survivors and emergency services staff
QPR showing their respect for the victims of Grenfell. Picture: QPR
QPR will be hosting the Grenfell Memorial Cup at Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on 21 May as part of the continued remembrance of the 72 victims and all those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire five years ago.
The brainchild of Paul Menacer, a survivor who played in the original Game 4 Grenfell, the aim of the Grenfell Memorial Cup is to use sport as a positive community activity.
He has been working with Karim Mussilhy, a bereaved family member, and The Grenfell Foundation to organise this free community event, which will run from 10am - 7pm.
The Grenfell Memorial Cup will see a range of local youth and adult teams play throughout the day, finishing with a memorial and a 72-minute game which will feature bereaved, survivors and emergency services staff.
Alongside the matches, there will be a range of family activities hosted at Power League next to the stadium (home of the club’s Fan Zone on matchdays) and an Xbox Lounge for young people to enjoy.
Matches will be announced in the coming weeks.
Mr Menacer said: “I played in the Game 4 Grenfell which was amazing for me on a personal level, being surrounded by local people supporting me and getting to play on the QPR pitch. I wanted to give others an opportunity to do that too.
“For me, I feel football has been a great healer and it gives people the chance to forget everything they’re going through when they’re playing.
“It’s very important that this game is played here, it’s near Grenfell Tower and QPR have done so much for us over the years.
“Thank you to everyone at QPR for providing an event for the local community, their hard work will hopefully pay off and May 21st will be an amazing community day.”
Karim Mussilhy added, “Football is a huge part of our community and this is a great opportunity for us all to come together, play football and remember something we’re really passionate about.
“All of the staff at QPR have been incredibly supportive from day one. It means a lot to us. It’s very personal for them too, with their close connections to the young people who lost their lives.
“The Grenfell Memorial Cup will be a day where we remember the families we lost five years ago.”
Andy Evans, CEO of QPR in the Community Trust, said, “We are a community club and we’d like to think we’re embedded in the local community, hence our support before and after the Grenfell fire.
“The Grenfell Memorial Cup will be a community day. We want to get as many local people into the stadium as possible and create a positive, supportive atmosphere, getting people to remember together, socialise and have fun.”
Tickets will be available from the teams taking part and the following centres from Tuesday 26 April:
QPR Box Office
The ClementJames Centre
The Dalgarno Trust
The Harrow Club
Morley College, Golborne
Rugby Portobello Trust
The Space
Westway Sports Centre
Follow @GFMemorialCup on Twitter for the latest announcements.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
April 25, 2022