Zambian footballers kitted out in NUFC strip after fans help

A Zambian football team has been adopted by a Newcastle United fan who has collected sponsorship to kit them out in black and white.

Mfuwe Mags, as the the team has now been called, had been on the verge of financial collapse because of a severe lack of funding.

The junior players used to train and play barefoot because there was no money for boots.

Crispin Mason-Jones said the generosity of strangers had "blown the team away."

A big Newcastle United fan and architect, Mr Mason-Jones heard of the team, which was started to help disadvantaged children, while his wife was working in the country.

But it was about to collapse and stop playing matches as it was unable to met travelling costs, they had home made kit and no matching pairs of football boots. About 100 children also had to share one football.

Mr Mason-Jones decided he would help by collecting sponsorships amounting to tens of thousands of pounds, and renamed the team the Mfuwe Mags.

'Best day of his life'

He said: "It has guaranteed the future of senior boys and girls teams and also means we can look at developing with the under-15 and under-12 teams, and look at creating a women's team too.

"They have welcomed me and it's humbling to see what a difference a few pairs of boots and a football strip can bring about, and the fact that they think people are rooting for them and the generosity of strangers has blown them away.

"To give a 14-year-old lad a pair of football boots and be told it's the first pair he's ever had and that it's the best day of his life, you just can't beat that."

The sponsorship will keep the club going for the next three years and it is hoped that could include promotion to the second tier of Zambian football.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: BBC News