Marcus Stewart has urged fans from Bristol and beyond to revel in a "celebration of football" and raise awareness of motor neurone disease (MND) when teams of legends from across the game clash at the Memorial Stadium in May.
The Bristol Rovers legend, who also represented Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Sunderland and others with distinction throughout a fine playing career, was diagnosed with MND 12 months ago. MND is a rare condition that affects the brain and nerves which significantly shortens life expectancy.
There is no cure for the disease, but Stewart and his wife Louise want to do all they can to raise money for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association to benefit future sufferers and support efforts to find drugs that can cure or significantly delay the symptoms.
The fundraising effort, spearheaded by Lousie with support from local businesses, has raised more than £90,000 since launching four months ago, and that number will soar when a South West Legends XI face an All-Star XI at the Memorial Stadium on May 13.
Manchester United icons Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes and England Lioness Jill Scott are booked to take part, with former Rovers managers Darrell Clarke and Paul Tisdale in charge of the teams.
"Those guys have seen it all and I’m pleased they’re all coming," Stewart said at a launch press conference on Wednesday. "I hope to have a good knees-up before and after and that’s what it’s all about; it’s a celebration if I’m honest with you.
"There is a bit of awareness, but this is a football celebration. There will be fans who want to see people they’ve never seen play in their life. Their dads might’ve told them about Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes, but they won’t know who they are, so this is a celebration and that is how I see it.
"In the meantime, we are going to raise some money for a good cause."
In addition to raising money, Stewart believes generating awareness is more important because a clear message needs to be sent to drug companies to work towards a cure.
"Everyone has rallied around. It’s overwhelming," he added. "I’ve got over the fact of being emotional by being overwhelmed by the support and it is really appreciated because the awareness and fundraising needs to keep going forward for MND.
"When it comes to the awareness, we all say about money and people needing to know about this disease, but for me the awareness needs to go to the drug companies because there is an opportunity for those companies to jump at something that has not got a cure.
"They more they hear about it, the more they get onto finding a cure or something that will delay MND, not by a month but by years and decades. That would make a difference, so that is how I see awareness.
"Those guys (drug companies) have an opportunity to make some money and hopefully there is a cure somewhere."
Among those lined up to play in the game is Bristol City legend Scott Murray and he sat side-by-side with his former teammate at the Mem on Wednesday.
"He’s a Bristol legend. The last few weeks in Bristol show it doesn’t matter what colour you are, red or blue. The city has come together and it has been different class," he said in reference to the support shown for Nick Anderton.
"I’m looking forward to it and it just shows the stature of the man with all of his former clubs getting together. The amount they have raised so far has been different class, it has snowballed massively and I can’t wait.
"What he did in his football career speaks for itself. I remember watching him on Match Of The Day with his blue and white Ipswich gloves on scoring goals. Now I’m sat here next to him helping to organise a match for him.
"It’s a big honour for me and I am proud to be a part of it."
Stewart took the opportunity to thank his wife, who put her mind to raising money and awareness for the cause within days of the diagnosis.
"We’re nearly at our target (of £100,000)," she said. "We’re at £92,000 in four months. Thank you, it’s priceless, but I know what is in the pipeline and still to come, so we have only just scratched the surface. If anybody wants to do any fundraising events, get in touch, because every little helps and awareness is the key.
"The key was to make a difference and to channel any emotions into something positive. The sense of coming together was special. We can’t make a difference to Marcus, but hopefully we can make a difference for the future and everybody else."
Tickets, priced £10-15, will be available on the Bristol Rovers website in the coming days.
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