The kits from fame

A group of teenagers in Freetown Sierra Leone have received a football kit to make them the envy of children all over Africa. A Mission Direct supporter has supplied them with a full Liverpool FC strip; garments formerly worn by the side itself.

The team had been assembled by Mission Direct team leader Alison Marsh and named Pipeline FC, named after an oil pipeline which passes through Kissy, the poorest region of Freetown.

John Perkins an evangelical deacon from Powys got his daughter Rebecca to approach Liverpool FC’s chaplain Bill Bygroves for some very special kit for the boys: “Bill was her minister, so I thought it would be worth a try. Thankfully the squad uses a wash and dispose of their kit every week. We got a whole set – some home kit, some away.”

On the last trip the volunteers delivered a full set of shirts and shorts to the Pipeline FC boys. This time they are bringing original Liverpool FC socks – a little warm for Sierra Leone, but that’s unlikely to bother the kids according to John:

“There are only four non-African teams that matter on the continent: Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Names like Steven Gerard, Fernando Torres and Dirk Kyrt are huge. Being able to wear their old strip means the world to them!”

John’s final wish is to be able to deliver some football boots to the boys of Pipeline. To help him raise the money, we will be auctioning a spare pair of the Liverpool socks. To place a bid click here.