AN under eight football team have raised more than £1,600 to help three-year-old Edie Molyneux receive ground-breaking treatment for an inoperable brain tumour in Mexico.
Before Christmas, the Vauxhall Motors FC Under 8's team took part in a superhero inspired tournament named ‘Battle of the Superheroes’ for Edie from Tranmere.
Edie was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) after being referred to Alder Hey Hospital.
In an attempt to help raise £300,000 for immunotherapy treatment her family began The Spider-Ede Appeal.
Edie has now travelled to Mexico and underwent her first treatment on Monday, January 8.
Edie watching the match on December 19. (Picture: Chris Stading)
The battle of the superheroes saw 33 boys mixed into teams of Spiderman, Batman, Ironman, Superman, Captain America and The Hulk.
After sponsorship, raffle and games the team helped raise £1,622 to help send Edie to Mexico.
Ray Redmond, under eight coach at Vauxhalls told the Globe: “I saw a post that had been shared onto my Facebook timeline and that Edie’s family had to raise £300,000.
“I shared it and my mate Chris got back to me, saying thanks because it was his granddaughter.
“The more I looked into it, the more I wanted to do something to help.
“Every year at Vauxhalls we always do something before Christmas for charity, usually we collect gifts for Claire House.
“This year we thought we could help out Edie. I found out that Edie loves superheroes, particularly Spider Man so I thought rather than just a football tournament, why don’t we do a battle of the superheroes.
“All the lads went and got sponsorship for the game, we weren’t expecting to make a great amount but we hoped anything we raise would help.
“There’s about 30 to 35 boys in our group so each of them raising £10 to £20 is a great deal but their parents and family were very generous.
“It was very rushed and only put together in a week but we pulled it off.
“I hope what we’ve done will help inspire others to do something similar or look at doing more to help.”
Ray added: “I think a lot of the parents spoke to the children about Edie and why they were raising money for her.
“She actually came down to the tournament on the day and watched the boys play.
“Afterwards we went to our clubhouse and held a raffle, after meeting Edie, I think the boys understood more.
“Edie’s mum Ashleigh spoke to the parents about Edie, it was very emotional but it made us all more aware of why we did this.”
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