Former Everton player Ronny Goodlass is walking 128km across the Netherlands for charity – even though it means he’ll miss his first Merseyside Derby for several decades. True Blue Goodlass, who played for his boyhood team in the 1970s before spells in Dutch football with NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag, is now a popular broadcaster and pundit on Everton matches but fixture rescheduling to move their trip to Anfield to Sunday April 24 has ensured he won’t be making the trip across Stanley Park this season.
Instead the 68-year-old will be journeying across the North Sea to raise funds for Health Through Sport, the charity he started in 2005 which delivers football coaching to vulnerable, disadvantaged people and the homeless across Merseyside. Goodlass’ four-day walk will take him from the Dutch capital of The Hague to the city of Breda and will be bookended by taking in matches involving the two clubs he turned out for in the Eredivisie as a British football trailblazer on the continent.
Instead of watching Frank Lampard’s men tackle Jurgen Klopp’s side, Goodlass will be taking in ADO Den Haag’s home game with Jong FC Utrecht on Sunday April 24 where he is hoping to meet up with some former team-mates like Dick Advocaat and once he has completed his cross-country trek, he’ll attend NAC Breda versus TOP Oss on Friday April 29. Goodlass told the ECHO: “It’s lovely to be able to come together with three of my former clubs, as Everton are also helping out, doing something like this to raise money for charity and even though we’ve only just started spreading the word, people have already been generous with their donations.
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“A lot of planning has had to go into coordinating it all and it’s the third time we’ve tried after previous attempts had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. Originally, Everton’s trip to Anfield was on the Saturday and everything fitted in well but the powers that be are able to move the fixtures around late in the day for television and it will be the first Derby I’ve missed in years.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the Dutch fans and some of the players I knew from my time there though and everyone has been so supportive. Starting with Rotterdam, I’m stopping at five different hotels along the way and they’re all providing rooms for free because they know it’s a charity walk and some of my Dutch friends have devised my route for me.
“Apparently that makes it a bit of a longer journey than as the crow flies but they’re trying to keep me along the main roads so I don’t get lost. I’ll have to check the weather forecast because I remember the Dutch winters can be a bit harsher than ours but hopefully it’s warming up a bit now. Either way though, I’ll need to pack for all weathers and might bring my wetsuit!”
- If you’d like to make a donation to Ronny Goodlass’ Fundraising Walk Challenge, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/healththroughsportcharity
