An FA Cup winner and Championship title winner with Pompey are both expected to play in a forthcoming charity match at AFC Portchester.
The Pompey Charity Squad will be going up against a Premier League Allstars side in the Sophie’s Legacy Charity Match, being held at The OnSite Group Stadium on Saturday, July 19 – kick off 4pm.
Hermann Hreidarsson was part of the Portsmouth side which won the FA Cup at Wembley in 2008, and the popular Icelandic defender made over 100 appearances during his spell at Fratton Park between 2007 and 2012. He also played for Crystal Palace, Brentford, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic, as well as being capped 89 times by his country.
Svetoslav Todorov scored the goal which earned Pompey promotion to the Premier League in 2003 – he got 26 goals in total that season as Harry Redknapp’s side won the Championship title.
The Bulgarian was signed by the Blues from West Ham United in 2002 and he was capped 41 times by his country.
Brett Pitman needs no introductions to the Portchester crowd after playing for the Royals in two spells at The OnSite Group Stadium. He has made 60 appearances for the club and scored 56 goals.
Another player expected to line up in the Pompey Charity Squad who is no stranger to those attending is David Norris. April 7 every year is David Norris Day as far as the Fratton faithful is concerned – it’s the date when he scored a spectacular injury time equaliser against Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium in 2012.
He played 40 games in his season with Portsmouth in 2011-12 and also played for Ipswich Town, Plymouth Argyle and Leeds United during his career.
The Pompey squad will also boast a number of players who were at the club during the early 1990s, including one who went on to manage the club. Andy Awford had a couple of spells as caretaker boss at Portsmouth before being permanently installed as boss in 2014. He made over 300 appearances for the club during his playing career.
Guy Butters moved to Pompey from Tottenham Hotspur in 1990 and made over 150 appearances in the Royal Blue shirt before going on to play for Gillingham and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Chris Burns was at Portsmouth between 1991 and 1994, making almost 100 appearances for the club before he went on to play for Swansea City and Northampton Town.
Shaun Gale was at Pompey from 1988-94 before moving on to Barnet and Exeter City, while Dave Waterman made 80 appearances for Pompey before moving on to Oxford United.
Also in the Pompey Charity Squad is Danny Hollands, who played over 70 times for Portsmouth between 2014 and 2016. He also had spells at AFC Bournemouth and Charlton Athletic. While defender Lee Brown made over 100 appearances for the Blues between 2018 and 2022. He also played for Bristol Rovers and AFC Wimbledon.
The Pompey Charity Squad face a tough test in the Sophie’s Legacy Charity Match as the Premier League Allstars squad is packed with players who have won silverware and international caps aplenty.
Wes Brown won the Champions League and Premier League with Manchester United, and there will be more links to the Red Devils with the likes of Russell Beardsmore and Luke Chadwick expected to play.
Former England international, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer is also expected to take to the pitch, and he will be joined by his ex-Southampton team mate Matt Le Tissier.
Dean Windass, Lee Trundle, Matt Kilgallon and Paddy Kenny are also expected to be in the line up.
Proceeds from the event will be going to support the work of Sophie’s Legacy. The charity is committed to providing emotional, practical and financial support to families with children in hospital.
They have helped to make improvements to hospital food for children and ensured parents are fed while they are in hospital with their child.
Sophie’s Legacy also works to increase funding into research of childhood cancer and providing training for health professionals to help them identify cancer in children as early as possible. Play specialists are also provided in hospitals across the country.
The charity was set up in memory of Sophie Fairall, who died from a rare form of childhood cancer aged 10 in 2021. The work of the charity focuses on the things she wanted changed for other children and their families following her own experiences.
Tickets for the Sophie’s Legacy Charity Football Match are priced £15 for adults and £10 for concessions.
Purchase your tickets now via the following link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sophieslegacy/1599776