Where The Remf Money Goes

Brett Mendoza - manager of Albion’s REMF team - explained how the proceeds of the charity game are used to benefit underprivileged children, ahead of the 17th annual meeting with Crystal Palace supporters at the Dripping Pan tomorrow night.

A 20-man squad welcomes the Eagles to the home of Lewes FC on Friday evening, and Mendoza commented on where the money goes from another fundraising match, held in memory of Robert Eaton, who tragically died in the World Trade Centre Attack in 2001.

He said, “We raise money for underprivileged kids to help them get into sport - whether that’s with kit, equipment, facilities or coaching.

“We do this in Brighton, across Sussex and also around the Palace area. We’ve also done a few projects in Africa as well.

“You go to places that you’ve helped and you see loads of happy kids, with a smile on their faces, playing football - and that’s what it’s all about.”

Mendoza revealed there are a number of new faces that make up Albion’s 2018 squad, which includes a certain Mr Ward, who has flown over from the United States for the game.

“It’s going well, we’ve had a couple of training sessions and a few friendlies. We’ve added six new players to the squad this year.

“We started training in the first week of March - an open training session, to see who would come as we looked for new recruits.

“Around 15 people came and we selected six players from that, to replace the ones that have left from last year.

“We’ve also got Peter Ward playing, and Ricky Marlow - he’s the only player to play in every single REMF match.”

Kick-off is at 7.45pm and entrance is just £5 for adults and free for under-16s when accompanied by an adult.