The Manchester Evening News
MANCHESTER, U.K. — New York firefighters who survived the September 11 terror attacks are preparing to take on their Manchester counterparts for a charity football match.
Up to 25 men from the New York Fire Department, some whom lived through the World Trade Center horror, are playing a team of Manchester firefighters in a bid to raise 25,000
They are coming in the name of the Sergio Villanueva Soccer Foundation, named after the fire department’s star footballer who died in the atrocity.
Since then, the team officially retired the number 10 shirt in his honour.
The match takes place on August 19 at Salford City Stadium.
Half the money raised will go to families of the 9/11 victims and the rest to the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service benevolent fund.
The event is being organised by Mike O’Neill, 47, crew manager at Eccles fire station.
He said: These men are the real heroes. Half of them were in 9/11.
Explaining how the match came about, he said: I was on holiday in New York for the St Patrick’s Day parade and I met up with some of their firemen and it went from there.
I invited them over here for a football match and they said they’d love to.
The four-day trip will also double as a working holiday for the New York firefighters, who will pass on tips to their Manchester counterparts.
Mike said: They’re doing half-an-hour before the game on their experiences of 9/11, how to tackle fire in high-rise buildings. It will be interesting to hear from them from a professional point of view.
Although the match kicks off at 4 p.m., live bands, stalls and displays will form part of a fund day which starts from 1 p.m.
Mike added: It will be a great day and it’s for a good cause.
Copyright 2012 Manchester Evening News
All Rights Reserved