Stewart and Darby's MND Fundraising March to Portman Road
Tuesday, 23rd Jul 2024 10:20

Blues legend Marcus Stewart and ex-Liverpool and Bradford City full-back Stephen Darby are staging March of the Day 2 between Wembley Stadium and Portman Road in March 2025 to raise money for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.

The duo, who have both been diagnosed with the disease, were behind the first March of the Day earlier this year which saw ex-players and fans walk all or part of the distance from Bradford City’s Valley Parade to Anfield in Liverpool, taking in 19 clubs on the way and raising £200,000 in the process.

March of the Day 2, which will take place between March 21st and 23rd next year, will start at Wembley and in stages of around four or five miles take in grounds around London before moving east through Essex, before eventually, 177 miles later, arriving in Ipswich.

Teams of walkers are invited to join the event at any of the daytime stages, while ex-players, including Stewart’s Town captain Matt Holland, former England skipper Steph Houghton, who is Darby’s wife, Chris Kirkland and Jay Spearing, will also be taking part. Registration is open with the aim to raise more than £250,000.

Speaking to Life’s a Pitch TV in January ahead of the first event, Stewart said he believes a cure or life-extending treatment for MND isn’t too far away.

“If we can get the football community involved like they’ve got the rugby community involved then we have a chance of beating this disease, we really do, I really believe that,” he said.

“Ten years ago, if you got MND, you might have been in a bit of trouble, but these days I think we’re so close to finding a cure, we just need more investment to help the scientists to get to the details and get to the nooks and crannies of what’s going on with MND.

“If not a cure, some sort of treatment that will extend life by years and not months or days.

“We can only do that now, so hopefully in our time everyone contributes to that and everyone will eventually be part of that cure, whether you’ve raised a pound or £1,000.”

Full details of how to get involved can be found here.