Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has donated £20,000 to help Great Britain's deaf football teams travel to next year's Deaflympics.
GB Deaf Football needed to raise £17,750 before the start of December in order to pay their deposit for the competition, which takes place in Turkey next summer and is the biggest multi-sport event for deaf athletes.
There is no funding available from the game's governing bodies, and in response to a tweet over the weekend asking the Premier League and the Football Association for the donation, Neville responded: "I will do it if they won't."
On Wednesday, GB Deaf Football tweeted a screenshot of their Just Giving fundraising account, crediting Neville for a donation of £20,000.
It's official. Thank you @GNev2 for donating £20,000 to send us to the Deaflympics 2017. Just £105k to go ⚽️🇬🇧🏅https://t.co/oO5fBehvW5 pic.twitter.com/9FfD7ElxJN
— GB Deaf Football (@GB_DeafFootball) 2 November 2016
The association still needs to raise a further £105,000 to cover the cost of travelling to the event and training camps.
Giuseppe Labellarte
