By Neto Baptiste
Football clubs, teams and players are being asked to support Sunday’s fundraising soccerama for former player, Fitzmore “Quakerbag” Jacobs who recently suffered a stroke.
The event, which is a joint effort by Jacobs’ former club Bendals FC and the Past Players Foundation Inc, will take place at the Bendals playing field, starting at 1:00 pm.
President of the Bendals FC, Jason “Basu” Peters, said the initiative is being organised following consultation with the former striker’s immediate family.
“It’s twenty dollars per player and we’re asking for a minimum of 10 persons per team and it’s a small goal tournament. The Past Players Association, they will manage the actual game and we will just deal with the registration process. We want to close off the registration on the Saturday so that we are clear as to the number of teams that will be taking part. I know that in Antigua we are very last-minute, and different persons would come together and want to put up a team and we’re not ruling it out, but we just don’t want to have too much at the same time. Still, we are seeking contributions even if you’re not playing,” he said.
Jacobs, a former national player, reportedly suffered a severe stroke in June and is said to be receiving therapy at a special home.
“He was in ICU for actually months before he was warded, but fortunately I got good news that he was released from the hospital yesterday [Tuesday]. He is now in a home to undergo therapy because he needs a lot of assistance. Initially, he reached out to me asking how they could contribute, but I needed to liaison with his immediate family to see whether or not they were comfortable in myself or even the club going forth to solicit funds on their behalf,” Peters said.
Food and drinks will also be on sale on the day, while a donation box will also be available for spectators who wish to make a contribution to the former player’s medical fund.
Teams wishing to take part in the soccerama can call 727-0117 or 720-8030 for more information.