Former Blue Fabian Wilnis is planning to set up a charitable foundation with some of the proceeds from his testimonial year. Wilnis hopes to establish an annual international football tournament and also help youngsters to attend matches overseas.

Wilnis explained his plans to TWTD: "I'm thinking of setting up the Fabian Wilnis Foundation to help take disabled and able-bodied children from England, who otherwise wouldn't be able to watch football abroad, over to Holland to watch a game, and also the other way around with children coming from Holland over here.

"I'll be using funds from the testimonial year to set up the Foundation and also a share will go to the ITFC Community Trust, which is a charity I support.”

Wilnis also has ambitious plans to establish an annual international youth football competition in Ipswich along the lines of similar competitions held elsewhere, including Groningen in Holland: "I want to organise a yearly youth tournament in Ipswich.

”Developing young players is something Ipswich is renowned for and I would like to see a tournament with teams coming from all over the world, from England, Germany, Spain, Holland and even Brazil or America, to play in a two or three-day tournament in Ipswich.

”You see lots of tournaments like that all over the world now, but Ipswich hasn't got anything of that type.”

Wilnis hopes the competition will have a role to play in helping improve the town's image overseas: "It's sad to say, but people in Holland often only know Ipswich for the murders two years ago. I want to put a bit of a positive spin on the town, let them know Ipswich for the tournament instead, something positive.

”Even though it was two years ago now, people I meet over there have a negative view of Ipswich and that's not the case at all.”

Fab says he has spoken to people who have organised similar tournaments in Holland and is tentatively looking at getting the competition off the ground in 2010: "It's fairly early days and I don't think I will manage to do it for next summer, but perhaps the summer after. That's my long term aim.

"I think people would love to see a tournament like that in Ipswich and it's something I very strongly want to do. It's going to be difficult to find the right people, but hopefully with a lot of effort I can realise this and it can be something to help put Ipswich back on the map in a positive way.”

In the meantime, the defender, now with Grays Athletic in the Blue Square Premier, has various testimonial events coming up, starting with a fashion show at the Seckford Theatre in Woodbridge on Wednesday, 22nd October.

Fab says several of the Town first team squad will be strutting along the cat walk: "The players taking part will be Richard Naylor, Dean Bowditch, Pablo Couñago, Tommy Miller, David Wright, Alex Bruce, Danny Haynes, Pim Balkestein and Dan Harding.

"It's going to be great fun, a good laugh. It's going to be so unlike a traditional, normal fashion show. A few of the players' wives will be taking part as models as well.”

The evening starts at 6.30pm with a signing session where Fab will launch a calendar which features him in a variety of poses both on and off the field, with the fashion show starting an hour later. Fab says there will be a further signing session afterwards.

At half-time there will be a show by children from Theatretrain, the group who provide Town's cheerleaders.

Tickets to the show are selling fast with those remaining available via the testimonial website Fab10, which also features details of Fab's forthcoming events, culminating with a game of three halves against Feyenoord at Portman Road on July 25th.

Photo: Action Images

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