With a rare footballing appearance by England and Arsenal legend (and our chair of trustees) Tony Adams, an entertaining charity football match between ROAR Kent and The Forward Trust at Margate FC was a fitting tribute to the late Emma Urquhart, who sadly passed away a year ago.
Reach Out And Recover (ROAR) Kent emerged victorious in a highly competitive match against Forward by winning on penalties after a highly entertaining one-all draw (1-1) in 90 minutes. The two teams were battling the sweltering heat (27 degrees), and this only seemed to add to the sizzling atmosphere between these two sides.
Tony Adams kindly agreed to lace up his famous boots again after hearing about the match and Emma’s tragic story when he visited Forward’s Thanet Hub in May.
The football match was inspired by Emma’s involvement in supporting ROAR’s recovery football group.
This was the second Emma Urquhart Cup – the previous encounter also saw ROAR win, but by a much greater margin of 13-0! This time around, Forward played a much tighter game, which was no doubt helped by the footballing experience of Tony Adams, who proved he could still effortlessly deploy a perfectly-timed slide tackle! His trademark mastery of organisation – as a captain for most of his career – was also firmly on display in what was a jovial, good-willed and entertaining encounter by the two teams.
It was ROAR Kent who went ahead in the first half, but Forward pulled one back to equalise in the second. The game was initially called as a ‘draw’ but fans were treated to penalties to ensure trophies, courtesy of Ramsgate Trophies, could be allocated to both teams.
Anthony (Tony) Deaville, former partner of Emma and match organiser, closed the event by paying thanks to everyone who attended. Tony said, ‘Thanks to everyone for coming. This means so much to me. Emma was my partner, and we were together for a long time, and she was special.
‘It’s been a brilliant day, so many people have come together and celebrated Emma and broke down stigma today, coming from all different backgrounds – workers and volunteers – it’s just amazing. And of course to have an England legend as well [Tony Adams], what an event. Thank you to everyone who has attended.’
Darren Lacey, Forward’s inclusion co-ordinator and drug and alcohol practitioner, emphasised the importance of the match. ‘Emma was one of my best mates. She was an amazing advocate for recovery and for mental health. I think she would be very humbled if she’d have known this was happening. Doing this today in her memory is a fitting tribute to Emma and a legacy that will live on forever.’
Callum Smith, volunteer, committee chair and a key player at the game for ROAR Kent, paid his own tribute. ‘I’ve been really excited for in the build-up of the day and it’s nice to come together in memory of our friend, Emma Urquhart, and remembering all the people lost to addiction over the last year.
‘Whether they are associated with ROAR or the Forward Trust – or not – we just want to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around addiction so people can get help.’
Outside of the game, attendees could seek guidance and support from a range of information stalls – including those from Forward and ROAR Kent.
This blog was originally published by Forward. You can read the original post here.
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