Dave Edwards hoping for bumper crowd for Shrewsbury charity match this weekend
Football star Dave Edwards has issued a rallying call in support of a charity family fun day this weekend which will see him pull on a Shrewsbury Town shirt once more.
The Wolves and Wales international midfielder, who started his career with Shrewsbury, will line up for a Town legends team at the Shrewsbury Sports Village on Sundorne Road on Sunday (2pm kick off).
Proceeds from the event will go to three Shropshire children’s charities, including the Little Rascals Foundation, the county charity he has set up with childhood friend Ben Wootton, to provide help and support to Shropshire youngsters with disabilities, and their families.
The other charities involved in this weekend’s event are the Harry Johnson Trust and the Crossbar Foundation.
Dave is part of a Town Legends squad which will be captained by Ian Sharps and will also feature former Shrewsbury favourites including Mickey Brown, Dean Spink, Ryan Lowe, Jimmy Quinn and Paul Evans.
A similar match held two years ago raised nearly £10,000 for the Harry Johnson Trust, a Shropshire children’s cancer charity.
Dave said: “It was an unbelievable turn out last time and if we could get the same again it would be amazing. There’s a few more things on the day this time like a junior five-a-side football tournament for children and a lot of other attractions, so hopefully there will be lots of people there and we get some nice weather.
“It will be a really nice atmosphere, a nice family day, and I’m sure everyone who came last time really enjoyed it. I would urge as many people as possible to come if they can.
“There’s no charge to come in, just a donation to three amazing causes, and we hope we see lots and lots of people there.”
Dave added he was looking forward to lining up alongside players he used to enjoy watching from the Gay Meadow terraces as a youngsters and also players he played with after starting his career with Shrewsbury Town.
His brother, Chris, will feature for Harry’s Rascals, Sunday’s opponents, whose team will be made up of representatives of the three charities involved.
Sunderland’s Shrewsbury-born defender Billy Jones, a patron of the Crossbar Foundation, has generously bought a kit for the Harry’s Rascals team to wear.
The two managers this weekend will be former Shrewsbury Town stars Jake King and Sammy Irvine, who played together for the club in the 1970s.
Jake will take charge of the Legends team, with Sammy, who also played for Stoke City, the boss of the Harry’s Rascals side.
Jake said: “It was a brilliant day when the match was played two years ago with nearly £10,000 raised. I didn’t expect the crowd to be so big that day but it was fantastic. I’ve been talking to a lot of people over the last few weeks and many of them are coming this time which is magnificent.
"It’s fantastic that Sammy is involved. He’s an old legend and, for me, is the best player that’s ever played at Shrewsbury. It will be good to go up against him because I used to play right back and he used to be right midfield, so we know exactly what we’ll be looking for.”
Sammy added: "Jake and I are still very good friends and I’m looking forward to the day. As for the game, I think it just depends on who can run and who can’t run because I certainly can’t run and I think Jake’s struggling as well. We would like to go on and try and help a bit, but I don’t think we can.”
The junior five-a-side tournament starts at 10am on Sunday and there are a host of other family attractions lined up, including go-karting, bubble football and a disco dome.
Admission is by donation and a special 32-page glossy programme, which costs £2, has been produced.
There is free parking available at the Shrewsbury Sports Village, Severn Fields Medical Practice, The Lantern on Meadow Farm Drive and the Coracle pub on Sundorne Road
The Shrewsbury Town Legends squad for the weekend is: Ben Smith, Darren Moss, Kevin Seabury, Dave Edwards, Gavin Cowan, Ian Sharps (captain), Mickey Brown, Jamie Tolley, Jimmy Quinn, Steve Biggins, Sam Aiston, Steve Cross, Ben Davies, Austin Berkley, Paul Evans, Lee Steele, Steve Anthrobus, Andy Cooke, Dean Spink, Steve Jagielka and Ryan Lowe.
Pictured: Former Shrewsbury Town team mates Jake King and Sammy Irvine, this weekend’s managers, with their team’s shirts.