Markus Algard's fundraising helps Ukrainian teams to the Gothia Cup

The 15-year-old from London has started a fundraiser to help Ukrainian teams to travel to Gothenburg and participate in the Gothia Cup.

Markus Algard is a 15-year-old football-mad boy from England. He plays for Bloomsbury Academy, but will be going to the Gothia Cup 2023 with Phoenix Football Academy. Last summer he participated in the Gothia Cup and he was so fulfilled by his experience and all the international teams he met at the school he lived in that he now wants to give the chance to other young people who don't have the opportunity to get here to have the same experience.

He decided that he wanted to help Ukrainian teams. Gothia Cup gave him contact details to FC Pidshypnyk from Lutsk.
– This idea started when I went to the Gothia Cup last summer. I was shocked by the large variety of countries that teams would come from. I never thought that I would ever meet someone from Mongolia in my life, but I met a couple Mongolians staying in the same school as me and that was just such a surreal experience for me. Then later at the opening ceremony when everyone would cheer for Ukraine when they walked out was so heartwarming to see. These events inspired me to help bring more underprivileged children to the tournament. I spoke to Jenny Söderman at the Gothia Cup about my ideas and she put me in contact with the Ukrainian club FC Pidshypnyk who I'm now funding teams for this upcoming summer, says Markus Algard.
What are your goal with this fundraiser?
– The initial one would be to fully fund two teams to play which would be roughly 18 000 Euros. But I’m still working hard on fundraising and maybe even three or four teams could be potentially feasible.
How has the response been so far?
– The response I have received has been overwhelmingly positive. Many donors I reached out to have provided exceedingly positive feedback and words of encouragement. So far, ten days into the fundraising process, I've raised 10 900 Euros which is enough now to cover the costs of one whole team. I think it's definitely possible to reach the two or even three teams benchmarks as well. 100 procent of the money will go towards accommodations, travel expenses, mattress rental, registration fees, uniforms and insurance. FC Pidshypnyk is very pleased with all the progress, says Markus Algard.

Sergiy Shlapa in FC Pidshypnyk is touched by Markus initiative.
– I really was surprised when I received an e-mail from Markus in the beginning of this year regarding the initiative and didn't expect it. It’s unbelievable. We don’t know Markus, we didn’t meet with him. He just contacted the Gothia Cup and asked them to send my contact details. For us, it’s very important that people want to help us, and we will have the opportunity to join the tournament this year. Now, we see that Markus already collected half the amount and we can already register and pay all costs for one team, says Sergiy Shlapa.
He continues:
– Our young players are very happy about the fact that we, in this hard time, will participate in the tournament one more time. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to find sponsors in Ukraine that can pay all necessary costs now. We’re thankful to Markus, so big thanks to him. We’re very much appreciating the support from him. Also, we want to say thanks to the Gothia Cup’s management team. They give us free accommodation and meals for one team. This year we will have possibility to join the tournament with two teams, one boys team and one girls team, he says.

You can find Markus fundraiser HERE.