Carlton Cole is calling on West Ham United supporters to back the Football Fighting Ebola campaign
Carlton Cole is calling on West Ham United fans to support Football Fighting Ebola.
The Hammers striker co-founded the campaign in late 2014 to raise funds to battle the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, which has killed thousands of people across West Africa.
Cole, whose parents were both born in the region, feels a personal duty to fight the disease and has joined forces with fellow England international Nathaniel Clyne to host a Football Fighting Ebola fundraising event in central London on Sunday 12 April.
The reception will raise funds for the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership, which is providing volunteer doctors and nurses and medical expertise and supplies for hospitals in the country’s capital, Freetown.
While the Ebola outbreak, which surfaced in Guinea in late 2013, was thought to be on the wane, new fears of the disease re-appearing and spreading to new parts of Guinea, Sierra Leone and neighbouring Liberia have been raised in recent weeks.
“Everyone can see what is happening out in West Africa,” Cole began. “My Mum is from Sierra Leone and my Dad is from Nigeria and the region holds a big place in my heart.
“My uncle Duncan is still living out there working and trying to help with aid in the area, and I’m doing my best by getting involved in Football Fighting Ebola.
“Myself and Nathaniel Clyne are Ambassadors and we will attending the fundraiser, which will be hosted by my good friend Godfrey Torto, who co-founded the campaign and who has helped me with all my other fundraisers in the past.
“Hopefully we can raise some money to help the people out there in West Africa.”
My Mum is from Sierra Leone and my Dad is from Nigeria and the region holds a big place in my heart
Aside from inviting his West Ham teammates to back Football Fighting Ebola on social media, Cole has also been working alongside actor Idris Elba, whose own parents are from Sierra Leone and Ghana.
As part of the Africa United campaign, London-based Elba has filmed television commercials instructing residents of the affected countries to help prevent the spread of Ebola, which is transmitted through bodily fluids.
Meanwhile, Cole and other footballers have been wearing shirts with the names of healthcare workers on the backs.
“I’ve done a load of other stuff with Idris Elba as well to aid the workers out there, because they don’t get any recognition for what they are doing.
“We are just trying to help in any way we can to fight Ebola, because we need to get this crisis over and done with as soon as possible.”
Tickets for the Football Fighting Ebola fundraising reception, which will take place at Searcy’s in Knightsbridge from 6.30pm on Sunday 12 April, are priced at £100 per person and available here.
Alternatively, you can donate £10 to the King’s Sierra Leone Project by texting ‘StopEbola’ to 70030.
To find out more about Football Fighting Ebola and the King’s Sierra Leone Project, please click here.
As part of the Africa United campaign, London-based Elba has filmed television commercials instructing residents of the affected countries to help prevent the spread of Ebola, which is transmitted through bodily fluids.
Meanwhile, Cole and other footballers have been wearing shirts with the names of healthcare workers on the backs.
“I’ve done a load of other stuff with Idris Elba as well to aid the workers out there, because they don’t get any recognition for what they are doing.
“We are just trying to help in any way we can to fight Ebola, because we need to get this crisis over and done with as soon as possible.”
Tickets for the Football Fighting Ebola fundraising reception, which will take place at Searcy’s in Knightsbridge from 6.30pm on Sunday 12 April, are priced at £100 per person and available here.
Alternatively, you can donate £10 to the King’s Sierra Leone Project by texting ‘StopEbola’ to 70030.
To find out more about Football Fighting Ebola and the King’s Sierra Leone Project, please click here.