I don’t know about you but I love to hear tales of Newcastle United fans around the world who go out of the way to help others.
The latest one is something I read about the Mfuwe Mags.
They are a football team in rural Zambia who were really struggling with their finances, struggling even to afford the basics.
Step forward a Newcastle United fan.
Dr Ellie Bond was working in Zambia and her husband found out through her that the Mfuwe Mags were desperately in need of help.
Toon fan Crispin Mason-Jones stepped up and in 2022 first did his bit to help, the club was helping young people in the Mfuwe community but was struggling to afford even basic equipment, including football boots and kit, as well as the cost of travelling to away matches.
The Newcastle United fan decided to help and raised sponsorship, helped provide equipment and funding. Hence the team became known as the Mfuwe Mags.
They now proudly wear Newcastle United kit and he Mfuwe Mags are now chasing promotion to Zambia’s third tier. With the Newcastle United fan expanding his help to also provide football kit to hundreds of schoolchildren across the area.
It is a long way from 2022, when the club was on the verge of financial collapse.
Newcastle United fan Crispin telling BBC News: “When I first heard about the club, I just wanted to help keep it going. I never imagined that four years later I would still be involved, or that we would be talking about promotion.”
The Newcastle United fan initiative has now also expanded to include a women’s team, the Mfuwe Mags Queens.
BBC News also quote Meleki Chipo, a sports teacher in the area: “The kids are happy because the kit is so hard for us to find out here. Giving us such a donation will go a long way and give the kids motivation to perform very well. Football is very important to us. It gives the children a platform to showcase their talents and keeps them away from such things as drugs, early marriage and teenage pregnancy.”
Toon fan Crispin adding: “Kit is a big thing here. It is a mark of prestige and belonging and being part of a team and everything that brings with it, like community. It is an awful lot of work getting to this point. There is the collection and boxing it up in the UK, getting it shipped here and then sorting it out once it’s here. It’s a time-consuming process but it’s always an amazingly uplifting experience. The relationship with the players and the people around the club has become really special. They are the Mfuwe Mags but they are also very much part of the Newcastle family.”
As the song goes, “Geordies here, Geordies there…”, and there is yet another Newcastle United fan doing his bit as well.
Ian Macallan is originally from County Durham and this Newcastle United fan is chief operating officer of Project Luangwa, which works with communities in the area on tourism, education and gender programmes. In July, it was awarded a $150,000 grant from Fifa’s Global Citizen Education Fund to develop sporting opportunities in Mfuwe. It is the first time Zambia has received a Fifa grant of this kind. The money is to provide facilities including a football pitch and facilities for tennis, basketball and netball.
Ian Macallan saying: “Basically, it’s about providing kids like these with a real opportunity to learn through sport and take them away from some of the more difficult things we see in the bush, like teenage pregnancies, early marriage, alcohol abuse and poaching. Zambia is really passionate about football and it brings everyone together. For us, it brings better health and fitness and leadership skills. It teaches people how to work as a team, particularly girls. Building up their confidence is really key for us.”
Great to see these Newcastle United fans going out of their way to help those who have so little and need a helping hand or two.