Celebrity charity football match 'just the start' of work to raise more MND awareness, says Worcester mum
Stacy Bozward, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease last summer, recently helped organise the charity football match which took place in Worcester
A Worcestershire woman has vowed to continue her work to raise awareness about Motor Neurone Disease (MND) after recently helping organise a celebrity charity football match following her own diagnosis.
38-year-old Stacy Bozward, who lives in Worcester and was told she had MND last summer, supported the running and setting up of the Kick for a Cure game which was held on the 27 June at Sixways Stadium.
Just short of 1,000 people were believed to be in attendance to watch the likes of Calum Best take the pitch, with it raising just under £7,000 for MND charities.
Stacy is a former footballer herself having played since she was eight-years-old, representing teams such as West Bromwich Albion.
She previously spoke about how she could link some of her symptoms back to July 2024, some of them consisting of things such as a sore neck and her not being able to lift her arms above her head.
The mum-of-two has said it's so important to keep talking about what MND is so people understand more about it, and just seeing the amount of support she and her family received at the recent event meant a lot.
"It was absolutely incredible," she said.
"It was really overwhelming, the amount of people that came, the atmosphere was amazing.
"I think the most special moment for me was I didn't know about it beforehand, but my son came on and played and he scored a penalty, I'll remember that moment forever."
Currently, there is no known cure for MND, but the NHS say treatment can help manage symptoms.
Stacy and her husband Barry have confirmed they've booked to host another match at the same venue around the same time next year already and will be doing as much as they can to spread the awareness around MND.
"This is just a start," Barry said.
"In the background, with the help of Stacy’s brother, we’ve been organising a 26-mile walk, which is from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham along the canal into Worcester.
"That’s planned for the 23 August and there's various activities we've got planned over the next year."
The recent match last month came after a previous charity football game at Areley Kings Football Club which featured Stacy's former teammates and managers and raised £1,013 that was split between the MND Association (MNDA) and Matt Gallagher Foundation.