Opinion: Our match of the day for a great cause

It was all lost.

The Peterborough Telegraph reported estimates of the damage being over £4000. Other local sports clubs were also left unable to operate.

Shamefully, it wasn’t an accident but a deliberate arson attack. It was an attack not just on the pavilion, but on Peterborough’s civic life.

I went to see the damage myself with the football club’s chairman, Stuart Cave. He had spent so many hours with volunteers and his players improving the facilities, which have stood in the park for over 40 years.

Mindless destruction had undone years of work in minutes. It was heart-breaking.

I couldn’t look at the charred and blackened remains, know how much those facilities meant to the community and then do nothing.

This is Peterborough. We get to work.

A charity football match to raise funds for the club was an obvious move. Stuart talked to his players who were happy to field the Peterborough City side.

The challenge was then fully on me: recruit a team to take them on and make this happen.

My increasingly frantic appeals went out and, thankfully, enough offers to play came back. I now have an enthusiastic team of Conservative MPs and plucky volunteers.

The never-before-seen ‘Paul Bristow FC’ will take on Peterborough City FC this Saturday at the Ringwood Playing Fields in Bretton. After 90 challenging minutes, it will then be heading straight to the Oxcart Pub!

I am so grateful to all of my volunteers that I’ll avoid any predictions on the final score. The important thing isn’t the result, anyway, but how much we can raise for such a good cause.

Before the match came about, local people in Bretton had already chipped in almost £1000 to replace damaged kit, footballs and nets and to pay for pitch fees.

Our fundraiser will keep the momentum going. Literally from the ashes, the changing rooms and facilities can then be repaired and improved for people to enjoy again.

Football can always unite, despite the tribal loyalties of clubs being some of the strongest around. We saw it with the Lionesses this summer, bringing home England’s first major trophy since 1966. Perhaps we can dream of seeing it again, at the World Cup in Qatar?

And if it takes me huffing and puffing around Ringwood Playing Fields to help Peterborough City FC, only the spectators are likely to suffer.

Actually, it should be a lot of fun. If you’re free on Saturday, please do come and watch. We are kicking off at – or shortly after – 11.30am and everyone is welcome to attend.

If you can’t be there, but want to support a great cause and a wonderful grassroots club, you can also make a donation here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paulbristow1?

Let’s come together, rebuild and make Peterborough an even better place