A star-studded charity football match is coming to Moss Lane next month to celebrate what would have been the 21st birthdays of two Altrincham youngsters, Isaac Maley and Ellis Rogerson - and to mark 15 years of the charity that supported both their families.
The Once Upon a Smile Celebrity Team will take on the Wythenshawe Vets at Altrincham FC's J. Davidson Stadium on Sunday, April 26th, with kickoff at 2pm. Tickets are priced £10 for adults and £5 for under-6s, and are on sale now via the Altrincham FC website.
Isaac Maley, a pupil at Bowdon Church of England School, suffered a severe asthma attack and died on August 22nd, 2015, aged 10.
Ellis Rogerson died following an incident involving a car on Booth Road in Altrincham on August 12th, 2023. Isaac would have turned 21 on April 6th; Ellis on April 18th.
The match has been organised by Isaac's mum Vicky, who is now a trustee of Once Upon a Smile - the grief support charity that helped her family in the aftermath of Isaac's death - alongside Ellis's mum Sam, whom Vicky has been mentoring since Ellis died. Once Upon a Smile also played a significant role in supporting Ellis's younger brother Liam, who is now 16.
"We were having a coffee and we said, 'Both the boys are turning 21 - what can we do?'" Vicky told Altrincham Today. "We've got to do something."
Vicky's husband Andrew approached Altrincham FC, who agreed to host the event again - just as they did for the original match, held in 2016, which drew a crowd of around 3,000 and raised £34,000 for Once Upon a Smile.
The Wythenshawe Vets, a squad of retired professional footballers, will feature former Premier League stars including Papiss Cissé, Danny Drinkwater, Stephen Ireland and Emile Heskey.
Facing them will be the Once Upon a Smile Celebrity Team, which includes former Manchester United and Ireland defenders Wes Brown and John O'Shea, as well as Glenn Whelan and Chris Eagles.
Emmerdale actors Joe-Warren Plant, Jay Kontzle and James Hooton - best known as Sam Dingle - will also play, as will This Is England's Tom Turgoose. The team will be co-captained by charity founders Danny Miller and Daniel Jillings.
Even though they never knew each other, Isaac and Ellis had mutual friends and had actually played against each other in a football match when both were 10 years old.
Before the main celebrity match kicks off, there will be a pre-match game featuring Isaac and Ellis's own friends, who will play wearing specially branded T-shirts.
Vicky said she hopes the day can surpass the 2016 event. "We want to beat the last record. We'd love to raise more and we'd love to fill it. If we can get to full capacity - 4,000 - that would be incredible."
The match is also a landmark occasion for Once Upon a Smile, which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary of supporting bereaved children and families across the region.
Tickets are available via the Altrincham FC website and the Once Upon a Smile website. Businesses wishing to offer support or with press enquiries can contact info@onceuponasmile.org.uk.
