QPR's home at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on South Africa Road, W12. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES
The 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire will be remembered with a community football day at Queens Park Rangers in May, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the fire.
The Grenfell Memorial Cup has been organised by Paul Menacer, a survivor of the tragedy, who also played in the original ‘Game 4 Grenfell’ match.
Paul has worked with Karim Mussilhy, a bereaved family member, to organise the day, which will take place on Saturday 21 May.
The event will run at QPR’s Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium from 10am to 7pm. Entry is free.
Bring the community together
Local youth and adult teams will take part throughout the day, concluding with a 72-minute match featuring survivors and family members of those affected by the Grenfell fire, and members of the emergency services. The Power League next to Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium will also host a range of family activities.
Paul hopes that sport can help bring the community together as it approaches the fifth anniversary of the fire. “I played in the Game 4 Grenfell match which was amazing for me on a personal level, being surrounded by local people supporting me and getting to play on QPR’s pitch,” Paul told QPR. “I wanted to give others an opportunity to do that too.
“For me, I feel football has been a great healer and it gives people the chance to forget everything they’re going through when they’re playing. It’s very important that this game is played here, it’s near Grenfell Tower and QPR has done so much for us over the years.”
Tickets are now available from a range of locations, including the QPR Box Office, The Clement James Centre, The Dalgarno Trust, The Harrow Club, Morley College, Rugby Portobello Trust, and Westway Sports Centre.
More information can also be found at the Grenfell Memorial Cup Twitter account.
Grenfell tragedy
The Grenfell Tower fire took place on 14 June 2017 in North Kensington.
After the fire, Hammersmith & Fulham Council supported more than 50 families in temporary accommodation in the borough. Teams from the housing and social care departments visited the families each week, making sure they had vouchers for hot meals, travelcards and that they were receiving the support they needed – and in some cases also supported family members, friends and neighbours.
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