News, Manchester
“Since we started this club nobody wants to be a part of, it’s grown bigger than we ever expected.”, said Olly Monk, co-founder of Angels United.
The stillbirth of Olly’s daughters Poppy and Dotty back in 2020 helped spark a meeting of men from Manchester who were united not just by their love of football, but also the experience of losing a child.
From that day on 25 October 2021, a WhatsApp chat of 13 fathers, which grew from an online Covid support group, has grown to more than 50 members.
The club trains every Tuesday night at Wright Robinson College in Gorton and is intended to be a place where fathers who have lost children can meet to find support and share their experiences.
The group then meets on Sundays to play matches in various locations – with the players each time wearing shirts with the names of their children printed across their backs.
Olly said: “Even though in an ideal world you’d never want to be involved with this kind of thing I know I’ve got friends for life.
“When you go you know people will be there to pick you up from the lowest of lows and help you climb back up.”
The success of Angels United has culminated with memorial matches against the national baby loss group Sands United, and recognition at the Manchester FA Grassroots football awards in 2024, presented by England and Manchester United player Ella Toone.
And their progress on the field has now prompted a discussion of how they can be more effective helping people off it.
On Sunday, Angels United players and their families will meet at Heaton Park for the first of the club’s new WalkNTalk sessions.
The sessions are intended to expand the group beyond football and offer people the opportunity to meet for a walk and a supportive chat.
“These sessions are designed to bring people together who have a shared experience of baby or child loss for whom football isn’t for them.” Olly said.
Ed Growden, from Preston, Lancashire, joined the club back in June 2023 after his son Shay was stillborn.
‘This meant something’
He said he got emotional after he completed his first session playing with the club.
“The first session I went to I was crying my eyes out to my wife Kerry afterwards because this meant something – it was totally different,” he said.
“And these WalkNTalk sessions will be nice for having a chat about what you’re going through even if it doesn’t involve football.
“This support network isn’t there for if you need it, it’s for when you need it.”
Ed continued: “When we play the games we’re playing for the names of our children on the back of our shirt.
“My son Shay will never get to play the game of football, but every time I step on to the pitch I feel like I’m playing for him, with so much pride.”
Olly added: “There’s no magic pill to make bereavement better, none.
“But we want to help people to see there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
