A Whitefield dad who organises an annual memorial football match said the latest event has been the biggest to date after the appearance of former stars in the game.
Former Premier League players took part in an annual match, organised by Graeme Warner, in memory of former Manchester Grammar School (MGS) staff member Stuart Dale, who died in 2005.
Three-time Premier League winner, Robert Huth, Jim Whitley, who played for Manchester City, former Blackburn Rover striker Matt Jansen and former Northern Ireland international Colin Murdock lined up against MGS staff on Friday, April 28 at the school on Old Hall Lane.
Graeme said: “It was a brilliant match and I have been organising these fundraisers in memory of Stuart Dale since around 2006.
"He was an ex-member of staff at MGS, where my son attended, and to remember him, we organise these annual matches to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.”
Stuart was a porter at the school and was looked after by Macmillan Cancer Support before he died.
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Since his death, staff at the school have been joining forces to take on an all-star team in a charity football match.
The inception of the "Stuart Dale Trophy" and charity match has since helped to raise over £40,000 for Macmillan.
Graeme said: “This year has been our biggest one yet and we are well on the way to beating £9,000, which is what we raised last year.
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"We are still waiting on some money from the events on the day to come through but it is looking good.
“We had ex-Chelsea and Germany star Huth, who has won the Premier League three times, Jim Whitley, who played for Man City and Matt Jansen, who played for Blackburn.
“Colin Murdock, who started his career at United and went on to play for Northern Ireland, also joined us and if I’m being honest, I think the team were a bit too skilled this year.”
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The all-star team beat MGS staff 7-0 in front of a huge crowd and various events also took place across the day to help fundraising efforts.
Graeme added that it was nice to "briefly" play alongside his son, Lee Warner, a MGS "old boy", who attended to show his support.
Totals for the event are still being calculated and a JustGiving crowdfunding page has been set up for anyone else interested in contributing.
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