Chipstead play Manchester United in Zambia, Africa. Sort of.

13/02/2014

The Chipstead team come face to face with a team in a more widely recognised kit

IT IS not often you will see Chipstead facing off against Manchester United but it is becoming a common sight in a village just outside the Zambia capital city of Lusaka.

Chipstead’s treasurer Paula Titheradge learnt about Vision Aid Overseas, a charity which provides optical aid and services to developing countries, while on a business trip. With the help of the High Road club, she found a unique way to help them.

“I met a man who has set up a sports academy just outside the Zambian capital,” Titheradge explained. “They help educate but also teach people about the dangers of things like Aids, because that’s a problem out there.

“I spoke to Chipstead when I got back and they agreed it would be nice to donate our old football kits.”

Titheradge has already delivered two seasons’ worth of the green and white striped kit and is now planning another trip to take this year’s.

“They know they have got the kit from England,” Titheradge explained. “They love football out there and follow all the big teams, so they would probably thank me forever if I could take a Manchester United kit out there.

“Our kits mean they know they will look like a proper team; when we gave the kit they won their game that weekend and they said it was because the kit gave them a boost.

“It’s just something we can do to show them people care about them, because quite a lot of them are orphans.”