Banbury United's Love Island winner to lead Puritans’ Children in Need fundraiser

Central defender Finley Tapp will lead the football club’s fundraising efforts when he starts off the eight-hour charity cyclothon on Friday November 17.

The 24-year-old will be among a succession of people linked to the town and football club who will take to the saddle of an exercise bike for a 30-minute stint between 2pm and 10pm.

Finley said: “I’m really happy to lead the Banbury United cyclothon in aid of Children in Need and to raise as much money as we can for the initiative’s excellent causes.

"There was a suggestion initially that I do several hours on the bike, but luckily, we recently got drawn in an FA Trophy match on the next day, and the manager says I can’t overdo it!”

The Milton Keynes-born footballer joined the Puritans over the summer after a move from Oxford City, but is perhaps most well known for winning the 2020 reality show with then-partner Paige Turley.

People have been invited to the team’s clubhouse to enjoy refreshments, cheer on the cyclists, and dig into their pockets for donations to Children in Need via cash on the day or a JustGiving page.

Banbury United FC board director Lisa Dixon said: “The club wanted to do something to support Children in Need and to have some fun involving players and the local community.”

“As the Children in Need theme this year is to ‘be sportacular’ and ‘challenge yourself’ we thought a cyclothon would be a great idea. We are able to physically challenge ourselves while being in the warm and close to the bar!”

“Besides being a defender for Banbury United, Finley Tapp is, of course, a huge celebrity, having won Love Island in 2020. We are hoping people will either come along and support Finley in person or donate to our Just Giving page.”

Banbury United FC will also be collecting donations for Children in Need at its home FA Trophy match against Nuneaton Borough on Saturday November 18.

For information on how to get involved with sponsorship, email [email protected]. To donate to the club’s cyclothon online visit the JustGiving page here https://www.justgiving.com/page/banbury-united-football-club-in-aid-of-bbcchildreninneed