Newcastle United player Allan Saint-Maximin meets young carer Alfie
Newcastle United footballer Allan Saint-Maximin recently made dreams come true for 12-year-old NUFC fan Alfie Blackwell – a young carer from Wrexham in North Wales.
Saint-Maximin donated four tickets for Alfie after local staff in Wrexham at the charity Action for Children, which provides support for the youngster and his family, wrote to the French forward and told him Alfie’s story.
Alfie, a young carer who cares for his mum and siblings, is a self-proclaimed Toon super-fan and the star player is his football idol.
Alfie made the 400-mile round trip to Newcastle upon Tyne with his uncle and staff from Action for Children, in what he thought was just a visit to the city before being surprised with the tickets to the Newcastle United home game against Aston Villa on Sunday 13 February.
As a further surprise for the 12-year-old, Saint-Maximin met with the youngster after the match and gave him a range of NUFC goodies including a signed No.10 shirt and a copy of the player's own board game Helios.
I thought we were just going to Newcastle for the day. I wanted to see the stadium and club shop so when Uncle Tom told me we had tickets for the match, it was such a surprise! I was so happy and when we won 1-0, it made it even better. I couldn’t believe it when Saint-Maximin surprised me and wanted a picture with me. He even gave me his signed match shirt. It was the best day of my life!
Alfie, young carer
Catherine Schroeter, Regional Fundraising Manager at Action for Children, said: “Young carers like Alfie take on such adult responsibilities and can often miss out on moments like attending a football match.
“We are incredibly grateful to Allan for donating the tickets and taking the time to meet with Alfie after the match. It was truly an amazing day for Alfie and he said it felt like the whole day had been a dream!”
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MEDIA CONTACT
For more information, please contact Arron Williamson, Media Officer at Action for Children on 07718 244 125 or [email protected]
Out of hours 07802 806 679 / [email protected]
