Banbury football fan's love for his club lives on in West Africa

Young footballers in Sierra Leone are proudly wearing their new kit – shirts collected over the years by Simon Pearce, who sadly died suddenly in March.

"Simon’s love of Banbury United lives on,” said BUFC ambassador Ronnie Johnson. “His lifelong passion for the club is continuing to make an impact thousands of miles from home.”

The photo of the team wearing the shirts has been sent back to Banbury by Alan Wolstencroft of Banbury Rotary Club. Mr Wolstencroft oversees building school rooms and other charity work as part of Alan’s Africa.

“The kit is an array of BUFC team shirts from over the years which were collected from Simon Pearce’s flat following his untimely death,” said Mr Johnson.

“They were gratefully received by the Sierra Leone local lads who proudly wear the shirts. The shame is they would not fully know the back story of Simon, the BUFC fanatic, who left us far too young. I know he would be over the moon, to use a football jargon, to see his collection of BUFC shirts worn across the world on the African continent.”

The collection includes Banbury United shirts from various seasons over the years – a fitting reminder of Simon’s devotion to the club he loved.

Although the players wearing the shirts in Sierra Leone may never know the full story behind the man who once owned them, those who knew Simon can appreciate just how much the sight would have meant to him.

“Simon was a true BUFC fanatic who left us far too young but his love for the club is now living on in a remarkable way – with his shirts travelling across the world and bringing a little piece of Banbury United to West Africa,” said Mr Johnson.

“It is a wonderful legacy for a supporter whose passion for the club knew no boundaries.”

• Alan Woolstencroft’s Rotary projects have built and equipped 46 classrooms, ten toilet blocks, sunk three wells, a 7-room teachers’ hostel, a water system and provided many other services to the west African community.