Pride of Britain winners Hughie Higginson and Freddie Xavi are special visitors to Goodison Park on Saturday as they continue a nationwide quest to help local children’s cancer wards. The 12-year-olds will complete two laps of the Goodison turf during half time of Everton’s Premier League match against Southampton in their 100km Football Ground Challenge, which sees them running around the pitch of every one of the 92 Premier League and Football League stadiums with this trip being run number 18.
The challenge is the latest brainchild of the duo, who received national recognition back in 2020, when Hughie was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Best friend Freddie vowed to help raise funds and set himself the challenge of running 2km every day for 50 days, finishing on Christmas Day.
His initial target of £1000 was smashed within days and, as the national media picked up on the feel-good story – with primetime appearances on BBC Breakfast, Granada, Sky Sports and This Morning – word quickly spread and the fund swelled. To date, the boys have raised over £250K for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and were awarded a British Citizens youth Award last October, in recognition of their fundraising.
