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    Celebrity Big Brother star Nicola McLean backs our Footie For All Campaign to give clubs £1k funding boost

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    NICOLA McLean praises The Sun for ensuring every child can play football as we relaunch our Footie For All funding. In partnership with Tesco’s Stronger Starts campaign, we have another 150 grants to hand out to youth grass root football clubs across the UK. The reality star is delighted to see more girls playing football thanks to our grantCredit: Olivia WestNicola’s son Rocky, 13, had played for the boys devision of the clubCredit: Olivia WestWAG and Celebrity Big Brother star Nicola said: “Playing sport is something every child deserves to have access to, no matter what life is like at home. “Seeing the work of this grant from The Sun and Tesco in action is amazing, as all the girls here clearly love playing football. This cash makes sure they can keep getting training despite money being tight for everyone.  “I’m excited that women’s football is getting so much attention, and who knows, maybe one of the players here will represent England one day.”Her backing follows the support of Jarrod Bowen, Eric Dier, Raheem Sterling, and Gary Lineker. READ MORE ON FOOTIE FOR ALLLast year, we launched our Footie For All campaign to shine a light on how financial struggles were forcing kids to give up football.Figures showed that 94 per cent of grassroots clubs were concerned about the impact soaring costs were having on their membership, according to charity Sported.Our last round of funding saw £150,000 given to remarkable clubs, and we’ve been blown away by how much they do to help their community while ensuring everyone keeps playing the beautiful game. From starting up new teams, providing free places for low-income families children to replacing old and out of date equipment, the cash has been put to good use.Most read in FootballSo today we urge YOU to apply for one of our fantastic 150 Footie For All grants.The cash can be used in any way that encourages more children to take up the sport or improves access to the game.How to apply
    WE want to hear about YOUR club and the huge difference you make for kids in your community.
    If you are a not-for-profit grassroots football club in England, Wales or Scotland, working with youngsters under the age of 18, you could be eligible for one of our 150 grants.
    Funds can be used for anything that gets kids into the sport.
    Your club might need help with pitch fees or want to sponsor places for kids from low-income families.

    Entries close at midnight, April 30.

    Nicola has spent years ferrying her boys to grassroots training and knows how important it isCredit: Olivia WestIan Wright confirms plans for when season ends on Sky Sports after Carragher jokes ‘You’re on a Bosman this summer’Perhaps you are a local team that wants to offer parents help with membership fees.Maybe you need new kits or more pitch space to play on. Grants can also be used to help with transport or general running costs.Nicola, 42, has had first-hand experience of grassroots as both her boys have played for local clubs since they were four years old. She went to visit the girls division of Flackwell Heath Minors team to see how they are putting their grant to use getting more girls involved. During her visit to the Buckinghamshire club, she said: “I’ve loved seeing how this club has embraced the girls and made them feel as welcome and as good as the boys teams. They’re all amazing.”Footie favourites back Sun campaignPREM stars have queued up to praise our grassroots drive….
    PHIL FODEN
    Reddish Vulcans, Manchester City, England
    “Grass roots football is where it began for all of us. It brings happiness for so many people and it’s so important nothing gets in the way of everyone having that opportunity.”
    HARRY MAGUIRE
    Brunsmeer Athletic, Barnsley, Sheffield United, Hull City, Leicester City, Manchester United, England 
     “I SPENT my childhood with a ball at my feet. Playing with a team gives kids an outlet and a chance to learn discipline and to make friends with people they might not have met.”
    RAHEEM STERLING
    Alpha & Omega FC, QPR, Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea & England 
     “MY mentor got me into football to correct my behaviour. I found something I wanted to put my energy into. I fell in love with it – and I made friends for life.”
    JARROD BOWEN
    Leominster Miners, Hereford Utd, Hull City, West Ham & England
     “WE can’t let kids see their dream die simply because Mum or Dad can’t afford to pay for the subs, kit and travel. Football is for everyone.”
    JOHN STONES
    Penistone Church FC, Barnsley, Everton, Man City & England
    “PLAYING grassroots football as a kid with my friends for my local team was the first step into football for me, and I never looked back.
    “It played such an important part of my childhood and I’ll always be so grateful for the opportunity it provided for me and so many other children.
    “Grassroots football often provides a happy and safe environment for children to play, meet friends and learn new skills. If it wasn’t for that start I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn important life skills on and off the pitch while having fun with my mates.
    “It can give children something to look forward to, even when things may be difficult, and make such a positive impact for both parents and kids.”
    ERIC DIER
    “FOOTBALL is a lifeline for many. It encourages teamwork, discipline, friendship, improved health and wellbeing and a sense of community. I know kids will benefit from the game and all that comes with it.”

    She’s used to ferrying her boys to training sessions, as both Rocky, 13, and Striker, 18, have played football at a grassroots level.  Nicola said: “My youngest son Rocky played for Flackwell Heath. Grassroots football is majorly important. Both of my boys have done it, and it’s given them a sense of community, and it’s been a great way to make friends. “Kids also learn how to win and how to lose. They need to be taught both of those.“It’s a great thing to do and as many people who can be involved in grassroots football should be. It really shouldn’t come down to finances as to if a kid can play or not. All I can say to The Sun is thank you for helping us get girls playing football.Declan Breen, club chairman“It needs to be open to as many people as possible, and that is what The Sun’s grant ensures.”Nicola, who is married to former West Ham player Tom Williams, was told by coaches that the girls had improved in confidence and skills since playing with their own gender. Rocky now plays for Slough, and Striker is honing his skills at Beaconsfield. Thanks to our grant, the club has been able to rent more pitch spaces and boy more goals to see as many girls as possible playing with them.Flackwell Heath Minors chairman Declan Breen said: “The grant means we’re not restricted by money when it comes to provisions. “We’ve been able to rent more pitches and get goals, allowing more girls to play with us. READ MORE SUN STORIES“It’s also helped cover the costs of one of our teams, too.“It’s been fantastic, so all I can say to The Sun is thank you for helping us get girls playing football.”Declan Breen told Nicola how much of a difference the grant is making to the clubCredit: Olivia WestShe reguarly watches her son Striker play matches with his local clubShe even took a turn at showing off her fancy footwork with the girlsCredit: Olivia West More

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      Lauryn Goodman sets sights on HUGE reality show appearance – amid Kyle Walker baby drama and Annie Kilner feud

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      LAURYN Goodman is eyeing up a spot in the Celebrity Big Brother house and hopes it will mend her shattered image following her Kyle Walker baby drama.She wants to sign up to the reality TV show that made her sister Chloe famous – after falling out with family members over the paternity of her young daughter.
      Lauryn Goodman is hoping she’ll win a spot in the Celebrity Big Brother house
      Kyle Walker pictured with wife Annie and their son Roman in 2016Credit: Instagram
      Last week The Sun revealed that Premier League star Walker Walker, who is married to childhood sweetheart Annie Kilner, is the father of Lauryn’s six month old.
      He is also dad to her son Kairo, three, and he has three sons with pregnant wife Annie.
      Lauryn’s sisters, Chloe and Amelia, have cut ties with her, and she’s been uninvited to Chloe’s wedding, after The Sun revealed that Lauryn planned to destroy Walker’s marriage just weeks before falling pregnant.
      The new series of CBB kicks off soon, and a source told us: “Lauryn is desperate to talk with Celebrity Big Brother producers and land a spot in the line-up.
      READ MORE ON LAURYN
      “Lauryn feels like she is misunderstood and feels like CBB would be the perfect image rehab for her.
      “She feels like it would be a chance to show viewers the real her, and that there is more to her than all of the scandal around her paternity drama with Kyle Walker and her fallout with Annie Kilner.”
      They continued: “ITV, however, aren’t sure if she is the right fit for the direction they want to take the series in, but they know she is hugely topical and would get people tuning in and talking.
      “Right now, they are weighing it up. They haven’t closed the door on the idea.”
      Most read in Football
      Texts sent from Lauryn’s phone in July 2022 exposed Walker’s double life, and Lauryn became pregnant three months later.
      She gave birth in July last year, and revealed the truth to Annie two days after Christmas.
      She first begged Walker, 33, to tell Annie the full truth, then took it into her own hands.
      Lauryn said she didn’t want to cause harm but believed the truth needed to be known.
      She told The Sun this week: “I didn’t want them to split up or cause harm but it had to be out in the open for all of our sakes.”
      Lauryn’s comments sparked were seen by her friend who then disclosed messages to The Sun that showed Lauryn had every intention of destroying Annie’s marriage.
      Lauryn had texted the pal: “Ready to finish them” — then added laughing and heart emojis.
      Another message read: “Ask him if he wants to go with me again? I’m down for baby number 2 [five laughing emojis].”
       Annie threw Walker out at Christmas and announced their separation last week.
      In the latest incredible twist Annie also revealed she is pregnant again with their fourth child.
      A source confirmed to The Sun: “Annie is six months pregnant with their fourth child. It should be a time of great joy and excitement.
      “Instead, she’s struggling greatly with the fall-out from his latest sex scandal.
      “She’s understandably fragile but doing everything to protect her children and prepare for the arrival of their fourth.
      READ MORE SUN STORIES
      “To his credit, Kyle is trying to put on a united front to limit the damage they have been exposed to.
      “It’s a little bit too late, but he’s trying.”
      She hinted Walker was her daughter’s father last year and told Annie over ChristmasCredit: Instagram
      Lauryn now has two kids with WalkerCredit: Getty More

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      I’m a former Premier League star who turned down contract to go on Big Brother and earn £300k – I still regret it now

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      JAMIE O’HARA has revealed he still regrets turning down a contract to appear on Celebrity Big Brother.The former Premier League star was paid £300,000 to appear on the reality TV show in January 2017.
      Jamie O’Hara turned down a contract at Burton to earn £300,000 on Celebrity Big BrotherCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Nigel Clough wanted to bring O’Hara to the Pirelli Stadium in January 2017Credit: PA:Press Association
      However, he had also been offered a short-term deal at then Championship side Burton.
      Nigel Clough was keen to sign O’Hara after the ex-England under-21 international impressed on trial.
      At the time, the midfielder was a free agent after leaving Gillingham in September 2016.
      O’Hara instead opted to enter the Big Brother house, with the pair reuniting on talkSPORT on Friday.
      READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
      Recalling the incident, Clough said: “He said he was happy and he wanted to get back playing and I thought if we offer him a few hundred quid a week then Big Brother happened.”
      The former Brewers boss was offered an apology by O’Hara, though, as he gave his side of the story.
      “Oh Nige I’m sorry mate,” he replied. “I went up there [Burton] and Nige was brilliant with me to be fair because I hadn’t been playing. I was out and I was a little bit worried about my fitness.
      “He asked me to come up there and I trained really well for a few days. He was like ‘look, I really want you, I need a midfielder’ but I’d already signed a contract to go in Big Brother!
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      “I said to my agent ‘Nigel wants me to sign a contract. How much are they offering?’ He said, ‘a couple of grand a week’.
      “It was £300,000 to go on Big Brother. I said sorry Nige, I’m off. I do apologise though Nige, I do regret that one.”
      Asked how long he spent on the show and why he did not sign for Burton afterwards, O’Hara added: “Three weeks and big Nige didn’t talk to me when I got out!”
      The 37-year-old lasted 27 days before becoming the ninth housemate to be evicted.
      Coleen Nolan would win the series – with Jedward finishing runners-up.
      After the show, he joined non-league Billericay, spending two years with the club before retiring in 2019 aged 32.
      O’Hara, who made 93 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, Wolves and Portsmouth, remained with Billericay until 2021 as both a player-coach and manager.
      As for Burton, Clough’s side went on to avoid relegation in their first Championship season by a single point, finishing 20th in the second tier.
      O’Hara made 93 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, Wolves and PortsmouthCredit: Getty More

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      I’m a former Premier League star burned by brutal reality TV… I beg all footballers to avoid falling into dark spiral

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      JERMAINE PENNANT has advised current Premier League players to avoid the “dangers” of reality TV and warned “nothing good can come of it”.Pennant became the most expensive youth player in the history of football when Arsenal paid Notts County £2million to secure him when he was just 15.
      Pennant has urged footballers to avoid following his lead by appearing on reality TVCredit: Getty – Contributor
      He would go on to play for the likes of Liverpool and Stoke City before ending his career at Billericay Town in 2018.
      After retiring, the former winger dipped his toe into the world of reality TV – appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 and Celebs Go Dating in 2019.
      While on Celebrity Big Brother, Pennant appeared to flirt extensively with fellow contestant Chloe Ayling – despite being married to Alice Goodwin at the time.
      He failed to disclose to Ayling that he was a married man.
      READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
      He claimed the way the show was edited almost destroyed his marriage.
      He told The Sun in 2019: “I had no idea what was going on when I was in Celebrity Big Brother.
      “In there I know how it is, but the way they edit it, it looks 100 per cent worse. They are showing five minutes of a 24 hour day. There were times when I never had a conversation with a girl.”
      Despite undergoing couples counselling as part of Celebs go Dating, Pennant and Goodwin went their separate ways in 2020 after nine years of marriage.
      Most read in Football
      And now Pennant has warned current footballers that are in a similar position to him to avoid the additional spotlight reality TV can bring.

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      He was asked by Lord Ping about the dangers of reality TV for footballers at the end of their careers, with the company asking if he would advise someone like Jack Grealish not to follow his path.
      Pennant responded: “I would urge footballers to stay away from reality TV.
      “There’s nothing good to come from it. Reality TV is all about controversy, they don’t care if you look good or bad, it’s all about entertainment value and production.
      “If you’re a footballer and that’s your niche that you’ve worked your whole life for, then to go to reality TV kind of washes that out and taints it to a certain degree.
      “Then trying to move on from reality TV is very difficult. You get a few who do well after, but 90 per cent find themselves in a dark spiral just to keep relevant. 
      “I wouldn’t say it’s a life to live, nothing good can come from it.”
      Pennant is not the only former footballer to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house.
      He followed in the footsteps of former Tottenham star Jamie O’Hara, who appeared on the show in 2017.
      While in the Boreham Wood studio home, O’Hara shared smooches with Nicola McLean and Bianca Gascoigne.
      John Barnes and Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock are two other ex-pros that found themselves on the show.
      Meanwhile, Pennant recently bravely opened up about his own childhood trauma in the aftermath of Dele Alli’s emotional interview on The Overlap with Gary Neville.
      Read More on The Sun
      He revealed he was called “the Cornflake Kid” by cruel bullies after neglect from both his parents left him with not enough to eat at home.
      He also opened up about how his mum was rarely in the house to look after him and how his father experienced substance abuse problems throughout his childhood. More

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      I was offered £300k to go on Celebrity Big Brother but it cost me a job at a Championship club, reveals Jamie O’Hara

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      FORMER Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara has revealed he turned down Championship side Burton to go on Celebrity Big Brother.The 36-year-old agreed to appear on the reality show six years ago when he was without a club as he recovered from an injury.
      Jamie O’Hara has revealed he turned down Burton to go into Celebrity Big BrotherCredit: Talksport
      🧿 “I was injured at the time.. they offered £150k! Then I started training at Burton..”😅 “I phoned Big Brother & said I couldn’t do it. They said ‘You’re going in in 2 days!’”Jamie O’Hara shares how he ended up on Celebrity Big Brother, whilst he was playing. pic.twitter.com/blQk1tnOmA— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 25, 2023

      O’Hara appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017Credit: PA:Press Association
      But after accepting the opportunity, he was then approached by Burton – who were in the second tier at the time and managed by Nigel Clough.
      This led to a series of events which ultimately resulted in O’Hara’s fee for going into Celebrity Big Brother being DOUBLED.
      Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “I was injured at the time, I was actually still playing football. I’d left Gillingham and I wasn’t allowed to sign for anyone until the 2nd of January when the transfer window opened.
      “Around November I’m sat around and I’m doing nothing. Money’s running out, I’d gone through a divorce and I needed a few quid.
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      “I got offered this show, Big Brother. They offered me £150,000 grand – that was a lot of money at the time. And I was like ‘you know what, big money, can’t turn that down, I’ll do it’.
      “It got to December 28th. Nigel Clough phones me, Burton Albion. They was in the Championship. [Clough] says ‘I’m really interested in signing you, I know you can’t sign for anyone until January, would you come up for a couple of days and train with the team?’
      “I was still struggling with an injury but I said ‘Yeah, you know what, I’ll go up there, I’ll see if I can get through it’.”
      He continued: “I’ve gone up there and I’ve trained really well. I’ve kept myself fit, I’ve turned up and I’m training well, I’m flying.
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      “So Nigel pulls me into his office after a couple of days and says ‘Look, I need you. I want to sign you, I need a midfielder, Championship football, I’ll give you £1500 a week until the end of the season’.
      “So I was looking at it going ‘It’s Championship football, decent club, Burton, I can’t really turn this down’.
      “So I’ve gone back and he’s said ‘I’ve heard you’re going in Big Brother’. I was like ‘No, no, Nigel I’m not. I’ve got to go back and speak to my agent’.
      “So I’ve got straight in the car and I’m driving back to my house in London. Phoned my agent and my agent obviously didn’t know I’d done this deal with Big Brother.
      “I said ‘Look, I’m doing Big Brother, they’re paying me £150,000 grand’. He went ‘You can’t, it’s football, you want to get back playing football, this is your opportunity’. I went ‘Yeah, you’re right’.
      “I phoned Big Brother and said ‘I can’t do it, I’m sorry’. They said ‘Are you winding us up? You’re going in in two days, everything’s done, there’s no way we can replace that, you are going in the show. You can’t do it, you’ve signed the contract’.
      “I went ‘No, I’m not going, there’s no way I’m doing the show, football’s more important’.
      “They went ‘How much are they paying you?’ I went ‘£1500 a week’ and they said ‘It’s not even as much as you’re getting, we’re offering you £150,000’. I went ‘No, football’s more important’.
      “They said ‘What can we do to entice you to turn down Burton Albion?’ I went ‘Nothing’. They went ‘What about another £150,000 grand?’
      “I went ‘Yeah go on then’. £300,000 grand, I’m in Big Brother, see you later.”
      Read More on The Sun
      After coming out of Celebrity Big Brother – where he was evicted with five days to go – O’Hara went on to spend three years at non-league Billericay Town.
      He eventually retired in 2020 and is now a regular talkSPORT pundit. More