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      in Soccer

      Jude Bellingham mania sweeps Madrid as records tumble & fans say he’s bigger than Beckham… but mum still makes his bed

      by

      ARMS splayed like Christ the Redeemer, Jude Bellingham’s trademark goal celebration is met with hysteria by the Real Madrid faithful.Moments later, his anthem is bouncing from the rafters of sporting cathedral the Santiago Bernabeu.
      Jude Bellingham splays his arms in a ‘Belligol’ celebration after scoring against Napoli last weekCredit: Rex Features
      Dentist Nitya Nandi, pictured with fellow Real fan Mafer Oliveros, tells of how Madrid loves the English footballerCredit: Darren Fletcher – Commissioned by The Sun
      Jude was named Golden Boy by sports journalists in a gala for Europe’s best young playerCredit: Rex Features
      “Na, na, na, na na na na, na na na na, Hey Jude!” some 80,000 sing in a throaty rendition of The Beatles’ 1968 anthem.
      Clutching a scarf bearing the legend, “Hey Jude — from Birmingham to the Bernabeu”, dentist Nitya Nandi, 30, tells me: “I love Bellingham. Madrid loves Bellingham.”
      Visiting Englishmen Jack Smith, 22, and Christian McGarr, 24, made the pilgrimage from Darlington, Co Durham, to pay homage to world football’s latest superstar.
      Newcastle supporter Christian, a toolmaker, said: “We came over for Bellingham, the best English player since Gazza.”
      READ MORE ON JUDE BELLINGHAM
      Madrid, which has seen its share of footballing gods, is gripped by Bellimania.
      In just five months, the England midfielder has become the brightest star at the biggest club in the world.
      At a gala ceremony for Europe’s best young player in Turin, Italy, on Monday, Jude was named Golden Boy by sports journalists and picked up a second award for being most popular with online fans.
      As Jude collected his trophies, he grinned at a group of youngsters in the audience mimicking his trademark goal celebration.
      Most read in Football
      The 20-year-old has shredded the record books after continually finding the net with what are known here as “Belligols”.
      Home in the ‘bunker’
      On November 26, he broke a club record after scoring 14 goals in his first 15 games.
      That is one more than Los Blancos icons Alfredo Di Stefano, who played in the Fifties and Sixties, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

      The policeman’s son from Stourbridge, West Mids, is now being feted like a rock star in the Spanish capitalCredit: Supplied
      Last week, a superb header against Napoli saw Jude become the first Real Madrid player to score in his first four Champions League games.
      Little wonder the policeman’s son from Stourbridge, West Mids, with model good looks and Hollywood charisma, is being feted like a rock star in the Spanish capital.
      Last week I was given an up-close taste of Bellimania after I watched him train then spoke to the fanatical fans of the world’s richest club.
      Jude may be what Madrid fans call a Galactico (superstar player), but off the pitch he remains under the watchful eye of his mum Denise, 55, who lives with her eldest son in the city.
      Club sources say she “helps him, advises him” and also takes him to training. At times, she has also helped him dress and make his bed.
      A video showed Denise giving her lad a hand with his bow tie as he got ready for October’s Ballon d’Or gala, recognising the best players in the game.
      In his West Midlands accent, Jude said: “All of them people say, ‘Oh, he’s so mature’, and I can’t even get changed on my own. My life’s a lie!”
      Last year at the Qatar World Cup, England defender Conor Coady revealed how Jude had been ribbed after admitting Denise still made his bed.
      Jude, who left first club Birmingham City for Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in 2020, before this year’s £88million move to Spain, has said: “My mum is the queen, the boss.”
      His dad Mark, 47, a former cop and non-league footballer, acts as agent for Jude and his younger brother, Sunderland’s Jobe.
      When Jude signed for Madrid, he lived at a top hotel.
      Now he and Denise are said to have moved to the exclusive La Finca gated estate, home to top footballers, actors, TV stars and millionaire businessmen.
      Visiting La Finca, a 15-minute drive from the city centre, last week it’s easy to see why many describe it as a “bunker”.
      Built amid pine trees with homes that can be valued at £9million, it bristles with security.
      Jude has hired chef Alberto Mastromatteo to take care of him.
      Lean meats, rice, quinoa, oats, fish, natural yoghurts, low-fat fresh cheese, vegetables and fruit make up the bulk of his diet, say local reports.
      Alberto said Jude is given a day and a half’s freedom from the regime, adding: “He loves chips. At the end of the day, they’re 20-year-old boys.”
      I watched Jude — who is also learning the language — training at the club’s complex on the city’s outskirts.
      The youngster belies his years with his confident authority among a team of seasoned internationals.
      Former Real centre-back Fabio Cannavaro said of Jude: “That guy entered the locker room and banged on the table saying, ‘Here I am, I’m in charge here’. He impresses me.”
      Afterwards, I was able to ask coach Carlo Ancelotti how well the Englishman was adapting to Spanish culture.
      The former Chelsea and Everton manager told me: “Bellingham is serious, professional and mature, so he can adapt really well.
      “The most important part is that he’s a fantastic player — and fantastic players can adapt everywhere.”
      Fans from as far afield as China, the US and Australia gathered to catch a glimpse of Belli — as his team-mates call him — leaving training.
      The sight of his black £156,000 BMW SUV inching towards the throng sparks shrieks of excitement.
      Fans Lucas, Ella, Jose Maria and Pablo wait outside a stadiumCredit: Darren Fletcher – Commissioned by The Sun
      Jude explains that he meets as many fans as he can, as it’s worth giving up half an hour to make someone’s dayCredit: Darren Fletcher – Commissioned by The Sun
      Little Ella Vidales held up a home-made sign saying, “Bellingham, please sign my shirt”.
      Her prayers were answered. Jude’s mum Denise, on chauffeur duties, gently eased the hybrid to the kerb.
      Sitting in the back seat, her superstar son was soon engulfed by the throng of fans offering up shirts for signatures and wanting selfies.
      Nine-year-old Ella, from Ibiza, got both, saying: “This is my dream. Jude is the greatest.”
      Her dad Lucas, 37, added: “Bellingham carries the team on his back, but he’s so humble and close to the people.”
      Jose Maria Luque, 69, from Huelva, in southern Spain, had brought his Bellingham-crazy grandson Pablo Marcias, seven, to catch a glimpse of the star.
      “He used to be a big Ronaldo fan, but now it’s Bellingham he adores,” Jose said.
      Ten-year-old Teo Georgiev shrieked with delight after Bellingham signed his shirt.
      His mum Gigi, 38, from Barcelona, revealed: “Bellingham was the only player who stopped to sign autographs for the children.
      “He’s a real gentleman.”
      Jude signed every shirt and posed for every selfie.
      While at Dortmund, he said: “I’ll sign whatever. If however many kids want a picture, I’ll do them all.
      “It’s half an hour to make someone’s day. What is that really? What else would I be doing?”
      Under Denise’s watchful eye, it appears Jude has not been tempted by Madrid’s party scene.
      In his early days at the club, mother and son enjoyed a meal at upmarket Cantonese restaurant Bao Li — a haunt of celebrities and politicians — in central Madrid.
      Its manager Jose Luis told me: “They seemed like lovely people, very polite and respectful.”
      Match day in Madrid has turned into a Bellingham love-in.
      Outside the Bernabeu, which looms over Madrid like Rome’s Colosseum, Ana Garcia, 19, is selling must-have Bellingham scarves for 10 euros.
      “He’s the best — and very handsome,” she replies when asked why he is so popular.
      Fans gathering around the famous old stadium, most with Bellingham and his No5 on the back of their shirts, had come from every corner of the globe.
      Like the Hernandez family from Bela Cruz, Mexico. Mum-of-two Maria, 35, said: “We have flown all this way to see Bellingham.”
      Jude is just the seventh British male player to star for Real Madrid, following Laurie Cunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Jonathan Woodgate and Gareth Bale.
      Estate agent Kike Faura, 32, from Malaga, insists: “Bellingham is better than Beckham and Bale. He’s the future of Real Madrid.”
      Jude’s Belligol celebration — mimicked by adoring fans — has become an internet viral meme.
      Set to an earworm soundtrack of Brazilian sports commentator Rogerio Vaughan bellowing, “Belligol, Bellingham, it’s him”, the stance has been compared to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, Brazil — as well as a startled anteater and a bird with its wings outstretched.
      Clubbers were pictured doing the Belligol on a packed dancefloor in a TikTok video seen 3.4million times.  
       Demonstrating the celebration, media consultant Mathias Jorstad, 19, revealed: “Everyone knows it. It’s gone all over the world.”
      The fan from Harstad, Norway, added: “I love Bellingham’s style of play, he’s good with the media and he seems very likeable.”
      Jude is a marketing department’s dream.
      The Real Madrid club shop sells an adult strip with Bellingham’s name for 195 euros — almost £170. And it was doing brisk business.
      Brand Bellingham could be as potent as the Beckham phenomenon.
      Jude has already modelled for Gucci. On Wednesday last week he turned in another dazzling performance against Napoli.
      There were balletic turns, tough tackling, incisive runs into the box — and that pinpoint headed finish.
      Read More on The Sun
      Turning to his adoring public with arms outstretched, he gave them the Belligol they demanded.
      From Birmingham to King of the Bernabeu in just three years.
      The Hernandez family holds up Jude’s number before the Napoli gameCredit: Darren Fletcher – Commissioned by The Sun
      Fan Ella holds up her handmade signCredit: Darren Fletcher – Commissioned by The Sun More

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      in Soccer

      I don’t know what I’d have done without football – The Sun’s Footie For All fund is vital for kids, says John Obi Mikel

      by

      BOUNDING about a pitch, Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel greeted the 20 kids from Wapping FC one by one with a high five or handshake at a special training session.While Mikel, 36, has retired from elite football, the former midfielder has kept his foot in youth teams with his own foundation in Nigeria.
      Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel bounding about the pitch with 20 kids from Wapping FCCredit: Paul Edwards – Commissioned by The Sun
      He believes it is vital to support clubs for kids in the cost of living crisisCredit: Paul Edwards – Commissioned by The Sun
      He said: “For many kids, growing up nowadays you play a sport or you’re on the street.
      “I chose sport just like these kids and it completely changed my life.
      “I don’t know what I would have been without football.
      “I remember being this age like it was yesterday.”
      READ MORE FOOTIE FOR ALL
      Founder Nahimul Islam, 25, started Wapping FC, in Mile End, East London, when he was just 17 to give kids a place to play football and keep out of trouble.
      Now more than 250 children are on their books, including 50 girls and 16 players with a range of disabilities.
      Parents are charged £5 a week for their children to join in training, and if they can’t afford it the club will do what it can to subsidise or waive fees.
      Nahimul said: “We operate in one of the most deprived areas of the country, and this incredible grant will help us give the boys high-class training and facilities without passing that cost on to mum and dad back home.
      Most read in Football
      “Having someone like Mikel come visit the club is inspirational to our players.
      “It shows them just what is possible.”
      Mikel met 20 kids aged between 11 and 13.
      When he was growing up in Nigeria, the former Chelsea ace played in any open area of grass with his friends and a beat-up ball, rather than being coached by professionals.
      But he reckons the joy he found in football is the same for the kids he saw training.
      Mikel, who has launched his second series of The Obi One Podcast, added: “What I tell kids at this age is don’t look at the money or fame that comes with football now.
      “Just enjoy the time you have with your friends because that’ll go by really quickly.
      “If you’re focused on the Ferrari or the fancy watches, you’re not playing football for the right reasons.
      “Money comes and goes, but this kind of joy doesn’t last for ever.”
      Mikel reckons the youths he saw training have found the same joy for footie that he has doneCredit: Paul Edwards – Commissioned by The Sun
      NET WIN
      Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has declared herself a “proud supporter” of The Sun’s Footie For All campaign.
      She praised our initiative to inject £150,000 into the grassroots game with the help of Tesco after the cost-of-living crisis led to many kids dropping out of local sports clubs.
      Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer is a ‘proud supporter’ of Footie For AllCredit: Roland Leon – Commissioned by The Sun
      Meanwhile, we sent Towie football fan Joey Essex and former Chelsea ace John Obi Mikel to surprise teams awarded one of our Footie For All Fund grants.
      Talking to The Sun today at the FA’s national centre at St George’s Park in Burton upon Trent, Staffs, the Culture Secretary said: “It’s really important that we have football access for everyone.
      “I’m a proud supporter of The Sun’s campaign.
      “We are combining with the sporting bodies, the Department for Education and the Department of Health to achieve our aims, so Footie For All is complementary to that.”
      The minister was speaking at the announcement of a £30million plan funded by the Government and the FA to build around 30 state-of-the-art pitches across the country.
      Inspired by the Lionesses making it to the final of this year’s women’s World Cup, the new sites will have dedicated female changing rooms, shower facilities and accessible toilets, as well as priority booking for women and girls’ teams.
      Elsewhere, TV favourite Joey enjoyed a training session with Broomfield FC in Essex, which caters for children with disabilities.
      The club was awarded one of our 1,500 £1,000 grants to help with the cost of pitch hire and specialist staff to keep the sessions free for kids.
      Joey, who grew up watching Millwall with his dad, said: “Seeing how much these kids love to play and the difference it makes to their confidence is amazing. I’m so proud to support Footie For All.”
      Chelsea’s John Obi was mobbed by enthusiastic young players when he dropped in on Wapping FC in East London after they too were also awarded a grant.
      He said: “For many kids, growing up nowadays you play a sport or you’re on the street.
      “I chose sport, just like these kids, and it completely changed my life. I don’t know what I would have been without football.
      “I remember being this age like it was yesterday.
      “It’s great to still see kids running around and enjoying themselves. That’s the most important bit.”
      The Sun launched Footie For All this year after statistics revealed how the cost-of-living crisis was forcing many young children to drop out of local sports clubs.
      We invited grassroots football clubs which work with kids under 18 to apply for one of 150 grants worth £1,000 each.
      The fund was generously provided by Tesco as part of its Stronger Starts campaign, which provides healthy food and activities for children.
      Since September, in partnership with the supermarket giant, we have been funding essentials including kits, free places and the cost of pitch hire for kids’ footie clubs up and down the UK — including dozens of girls’ teams.
      England team captain Millie Bright has already backed our Footie For All campaign.
      She said: “It’s amazing what The Sun and Tesco are doing to support local teams.
      “It will help a lot of children keep playing. And who knows, maybe some of the kids they help could become lionesses.
      “As a kid, my parents had a hard time getting me away from a football pitch.
      “But it wasn’t something I knew I loved until some friends took me to a local club, Killamarsh Dynamos, then it became my focus.
      “It opened up a whole new world to me aged nine and without playing when I was little, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
      “It’s heartbreaking to hear that some kids won’t get the same opportunities because their parents can’t afford it.”
      Lionesses training at FA’s national football centre todayCredit: Roland Leon – Commissioned by The Sun
      HAMILTON IN ESSEX LEAGUE
      LITTLE Hamilton Hunt put Joey Essex through his paces — five months after he could barely walk.
      The six-year-old, who has developmental difficulties in his legs, got his confidence back thanks to volunteers at Broomfield Football Club in Chelmsford, Essex.
      Tyreece knocks a ball past Joey Essex at Broomfield FC’s training groundCredit: Louis Wood – Commissioned by The Sun
      His mum Skye said: “Coming here has been life-changing for Hamilton and me.”
      Read More on The Sun
      The Sun’s grant is being used to help cover pitch hire and training costs for staff.
      Joey also handed out a new team strip paid for by art business Quantus Gallery, owned by James Ryan.
      The Towie star lines up with Hamilton, in blue hat, and his palsCredit: Louis Wood – Commissioned by The Sun
      Joey continues to join in with Essex club’s kidsCredit: Louis Wood – Commissioned by The Sun More

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      in Soccer

      What if VAR was just a ploy to bring breaks into football to make money from advertising?

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      SOON after VAR was introduced, those in favour of it and those against it divided into two distinct groups.If a decision went the way of your team, you liked VAR. If a decision went against your team, you were against VAR.
      VAR could be extended to checking corners, free kicks and yellow cards under new plansCredit: Getty
      What about if they’re in it to change the game in order to squeeze more TV advertising revenue out of it?Credit: AFP
      The advantage of this was that we all had a try at being in each group.
      We’re shallow like that, us football fans. We even laughed at our own shallowness, chanting: “**** VAR, **** VAR, **** VAR” over and over again when it had disallowed our team’s goal.
      But then, perhaps only minutes later after it had disallowed the other team’s goal, we’d chant: “Love VAR, love VAR, love VAR.” It was all very funny.
      But now the laughing has stopped. VAR could be extended to checking corners, free kicks and yellow cards under plans by football law-making body IFAB.
      READ MORE FROM ADRIAN CHILES
      You don’t even get opposing fans goading each other when decisions go against the other lot.
      Because we all know it will be our turn in a minute. It has dawned on us all that it’s ruining the game and we’re all going to be on the losing side.
      As a West Brom fan, I ought to be enjoying watching Wolves on the receiving end of one terrible decision after another.
      There were three more howlers for them on Monday night at Fulham.
      Most read in Football
      And I just feel plain sorry for them, even angry on their behalf. Yes, a West Brom fan annoyed on behalf of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
      This is what it’s come to. Each well-meant tweak to VAR’s operation only seems to make matters worse.
      In the interest of eliminating errors, every micro- second of footage is pored over in ever more forensic detail. And what do we seem to get? Yes, yet more howlers.
      Before VAR, we only had the man in the middle to blame.
      And hard though it sometimes was, we generally found it in our hearts to forgive them their mistakes because they were, after all, human.
      By the same logic, we can’t forgive VAR because it feels like it’s not human. It’s to do with bewilderingly clever technology and was set up specifically to counteract the fallibility of humans.
      Except, of course, even this logic was flawed as it’s become abundantly clear the technology is only as infallible as the humans in charge of it.
      We’re told the development of Artificial Intelligence might result in humans being taken out of the picture completely. In terms of VAR, that could get really interesting.
      Perhaps it’s only the human involvement saving VAR from destruction at the hands of the football mob.
      Imagine if, instead of humans looking at screens at Stockley Park, there was only a super-clever AI mega-machine.
      If this super-computer then started making mistakes, I honestly think football fans could end up marching to Stockley Park and tearing the thing limb from limb, or from chip to chip, or whatever the machine equivalent is of human physiology. And AI will end there and then.
      The question is whether VAR can survive long enough for things to get that far.
      Perhaps it’s time to write the whole thing off as a noble idea that, despite everyone’s best efforts, simply couldn’t be made to work.
      Terrible mistakes
      Or perhaps they should stop it for a year in the hope that we’ll go back to despairing of terrible mistakes and demanding video technology all over again.
      To try to make sense of the current VAR chaos, I tried a mental exercise.
      I considered who it could possibly suit to have longer and longer VAR checks ruining the flow of the game.
      And I have an answer. An answer which, I must admit, amounts to nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
      I therefore ask you to disregard every word of the following paragraph.
      Here’s my conspiracy theory: While we’re all busy worrying about the influence on our game of troubling regimes in oil-rich countries, we’re forgetting to be concerned about the effect on football of the growing amount of American investment.
      Around half of the Premier League’s clubs have American money in them.
      If they’re in it for the love of the game, that’s nice.

      If they’re in it to make money out of the game, that’s not quite so nice.
      And what about if they’re in it to change the game in order to squeeze more TV advertising revenue out of it?
      I’m sure they’d be chuffed to bits if we switched to playing four quarters instead of two halves.
      And here’s the conspiracy bit — what about if these VAR checks got long enough to accommodate a commercial break?
      You can just imagine it: Will the goal stand, or will it be disallowed? Join us after the break to find out.
      Or no penalty given! But will the ref change his mind? He’s on his way to the monitor! Sit through this message from our sponsor and we’ll tell you what the referee decides.
      As I say. Disregard the previous paragraph. It couldn’t happen, obviously. More

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      in Soccer

      I wouldn’t be a Prem star without grassroots footie – The Sun’s campaign is vital, says Jarrod Bowen

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      ENGLAND footballer Jarrod Bowen is used to fearsome opponents, but he faced his toughest challenge yet when he had to charm Spurs fans at a local grassroots club.The West Ham United ace, 26, joined Brent Cross Football Academy at a training session to celebrate the youth club bagging one of our incredible £1,000 grants.
      England footballer Jarrod Bowen faced his biggest challenge yet when he had to charm Spurs fans at a local grassroots clubCredit: Paul Edwards – Commissioned by The Sun
      The Prem star is supporting The Sun’s Footie For All campaign to support kids in the cost of living crisisCredit: Getty
      The forward showed off his keepie-uppie skills and then took a go in goal to see if he could fend off the ferocious kicks of the North London youngsters.
      Jarrod, 26, said: “I’ve had a couple of Tottenham Hotspur fans try to get in my way or sneak a kick, but it’s all good fun.
      “Being here has brought back really good memories for me of being their age and having a chance to play with my friends.
      “I remember the chaos on the pitch with everyone running for the ball and wanting to score, just like these guys.
      READ MORE FOOTIE FOR ALL
      “It’s amazing to see the smiles on their faces and how much they just love to be here.”
      It took just a few minutes for the seven to ten-year-olds to combat their shyness and bombard the ace with questions about his career.
      Jarrod revealed he would love West Ham to buy Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé, if money was no object, and Lucas Paquetá is his favourite teammate.
      Growing up in Herefordshire, Jarrod played for Leominster Town FC on its minors team before being scouted for professional football.
      Most read in Football
      But the striker hasn’t forgotten his roots and regularly donates kit, equipment and more to his childhood club.
      Jarrod was one of the first players to back our Footie For All campaign, launched earlier this year following shocking statistics that the cost-of-living crisis was forcing many young children to drop out of sports clubs.
      We then launched our groundbreaking Footie For All Fund in partnership with Tesco Stronger Starts campaign, which provides healthy food and activities for children.
      We invited grassroots football clubs that work with kids under the age of 18 to apply for one of the 150 £1,000 grants.
      Jarrod, who has six-month-old twin daughters with his reality star girlfriend Dani Dyer, 27, said: “Without grassroots, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
      “We can’t let kids see that dream die simply because Mum or Dad can’t afford to pay for the subs, kit, and travel.
      “Football is for everyone, it’s massively important it stays that way.
      “It’s more than just kicking a ball about, it’s building lifelong friendships, getting to do something you love and a chance to learn about healthy competition.”
      Brent Cross Football Academy has put its £1,000 grant straight to work.
      The team will fund free places to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they don’t miss out on top-flight football training.
      Head coach Jamie Kavanagh, 27, had noticed more parents were struggling to afford the cost of their child’s football fees.
      He put out a call and other parents with spare cash donated to the academy.
      He said: “The parents of the kids who get to play for free are hugely grateful.
      “It allows them to focus on other things without the worry of their kids missing out on activities they enjoy and keep them active.
      “In North London, there is a divide between the families when it comes to money.
      “Having kids from different backgrounds is one of the biggest strengths of our club.
      “The grant that The Sun and Tesco have given us means we can keep making sure there are free places available and give them kits to train in, so they don’t miss out.”
      Nineteen children were picked by the club to have a special session with the England striker — and they wasted no time in showing him what they could do.
      Korede Adewale, 9, showed off his goal scoring abilities with his rock-solid left foot and later joked that Jarrod looked 32 — six years older — leaving the striker in hysterics.
      ‘Fun and exciting’
      With the other youths also desperate to show off their skills, Jarrod bravely offered to go in goal.
      As multiple balls whizzed past his head and around his legs, he joked: “Well I regret this.”
      When the ace, who played for Hull City for six years until 2020, was relieved of goalie duties, he added: “They are all good at striking the ball and hitting it hard. They’re all top at this.”
      Tottenham Hotspurs fan Hugo Russell was impressed by Jarrod, admitting it was “fun and exciting” to play with a West Ham star.
      The seven-year-old says the best part about the Brent Cross Football Academy is “seeing my friends”.
      Nine-year-old twins Esra and Edie Parkinson reckon Jarrod toned down his skills on the pitch to give them an advantage.
      Esra said: “I think he wanted it to be fun for us and didn’t want to show us up with his skills.
      Edie contended: “I’d love to play Jarrod again. We would still win.”
      While observing the girls hold their own against the boys on the pitch, Jarrod complimented Esra for her fancy footwork.
      He could have a future career as a scout as the twins are currently at Arsenal’s Emerging Talent Centre, thanks in part to the encouragement from the academy’s head coaches Jamie and Antony Wardrop.
      Read More on The Sun
      At the end of the training session, Jarrod signed a football for each of the kids to keep as a memento.
      But one cheeky child couldn’t resist asking if he would “sign my bum” — which the ace politely declined.
      The kids picked by the club wasted no time showing the England striker what they could doCredit: Paul Edwards – Commissioned by The Sun
      Several of the young footballers left him in hystericsCredit: Paul Edwards – Commissioned by The Sun
      And here’s how you can get involved with our campaignCredit: SuppliedHOW TO APPLY

      WE want to hear the story of YOUR club and the big difference you are making to kids and 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 encourages more children to take part in the sport – such as pitch fees or to sponsor funded places for children who can’t afford membership.
      Applications must be made by October 29.
      To apply and for full T&Cs, see the website below . . . 
      www.tescostrongerstarts.org.uk/footiefund More

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      in Boxing

      Anthony Joshua opens up on Bella Hadid & Cara Delevingne romance rumours – & reveals the type of woman he goes for

      by

      HE has millions in the bank and an incredible physique – yet despite women flocking around Anthony Joshua, the two-time world heavyweight champion insists he isn’t after a supermodel girlfriend.The boxer insists he wants to live a normal life with a lady he’d bump into in the street.
      Anthony Joshua insists that he isn’t after a supermodel, and would rather go out with a girlfriend he could take to Pizza HutCredit: BBC
      And he denies rumours that linked him to catwalk queen Bella HadidCredit: Getty
      He also shut down talk about him dating Brit model Cara DelevingneCredit: Getty
      Which is why he is quick to dismiss any of the rumours that he has dated the likes of catwalk queens Cara Delevingne or Bella Hadid.
      Anthony, 34, said: “I haven’t actually been with any of those girls, by the way.
      “I’ve had girlfriends, but you could be in the local supermarket or in the local petrol station when we meet.
      “It could be anywhere and you decide where we go.
      READ MORE ON ANTHONY JOSHUA
      “I love a Pizza Hut. How easy is that? I’m easy-going.
      “The feels is good, it must mean we have an emotional connection. Then when they catch feels, that’s when it’s like, scoot!
      “I don’t want that stress — I ain’t got no missus.”
      ‘I used to get into fights’
      The Watford-born fighter was talking to Louis Theroux in the new series of the documentary maker’s celebrity interviews, which starts next week on BBC2 and also includes chats with Dame Joan Collins and hellraising singer Pete Doherty.
      Most read in Boxing
      During their conversation, the boxer explains there is another challenge for any woman hoping to become his wife — she has to live with him AND his mother.
      He talks to Louis Theroux about his life in the new series of the documentary maker’s celebrity interviews on BBC2Credit: BBC
      He also says that any girl he dates would also have to live with his mum Yeta, as it’s traditional in his family’s Nigerian cultureCredit: Instagram / @anthony_joshua
      That’s because Anthony still lives with his mum, social worker Yeta.
      Anthony, whose family is originally from Nigeria, said: “In our culture, it’s like you grow up in the family home, and for a long time we support our parents.
      “Am I going to move out and leave my mum by herself for some girl? Hell no. No way.
      “When a man marries, she becomes a child of the mum.
      “Family is the most important thing. When a girl marries me she ain’t just marrying me — she’s marrying my family.”
      Other than Anthony’s mother, there is one other woman who plays a substantial part in his life — the mother of his seven-year-old son Joseph Joshua, known as JJ.
      Her name is Nicole Osbourne and although he doesn’t live with her, he can’t shower her with enough praise.
      Anthony says: “She’s an amazing woman, you know.
      “We got together in 2005, we were about 15 or 16 years old. I have so much respect for her.”
      In the interview with Louis, the two men meet in Anthony’s local gym to discuss his career, his private life and the background that made him the person he is today.
      He recalls ending up in Reading jail for fighting, and wearing an electronic tag after he was released.
      Anthony said: “I’m not a troublesome person but I used to get in fights a lot.
      “I went to get chicken one evening and I ended up fighting six guys on my own.
      “That was just massive — a really good scrap — and I’m here to tell the tale today.”
      Throughout his youth he admits he smoked huge amounts of cannabis — which he eventually realised was holding him back from fulfilling his ambitions.
      He said: “As a young lad I was on the gange, and if you can’t get these distractions out of your life you can’t put your full focus and attention on improving as an athlete.
      “So for me, when I was able to stop smoking, I was able to progress. I was smoking maybe like six spliffs a day — wake and bake, baby!
      “My mum’s not going to be happy about this, but I’d probably be about 13 when I started. If you’re listening to me, kids, don’t do it. It’s not good.”
      Anthony had a “sliding doors moment” in 2011 when he was kicked off Team GB after the police caught him carrying eight ounces of cannabis.
      When officers asked him to pull over, he was wearing Britain’s official tracksuit and wasn’t exactly humble when they confronted him.
      Anthony — who was on course to represent his country at the Olympics— recalls telling one of the cops: “Excuse me, sir, I represent YOU.”
      He added: “I never signed up to be a role model, I just wanted to fight to better my life.”
      He was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours’ unpaid work after pleading guilty at crown court.
      But he was allowed back into Team GB — and in London 2012, aged just 22, he won a gold medal in the super heavyweight category and turned pro a year later.
      He went on to become world heavyweight champ twice, beating Charles Martin in 2016 then, after losing to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, regaining the title later that year in a rematch.
      Yet despite his achievements, Anthony hasn’t escaped criticism.
      Some say he is afraid to get punched, which he responds to in the documentary.
      ‘Understand the passion’
      He said: “I would advise most boxers, ‘Please, think of your career after (boxing)’.
      “There’s no MRI scan that can show concussive bruising to the brain.
      “You don’t know until it’s too late — dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, erratic behaviour, depression.
      “There’s this stigma that AJ is afraid to get hit — from my critics who are sometimes the loudest in the room.
      “But my goal is to not get knocked out. My goal is to knock out my opponents.
      “I’ll never shut my brain down for the love of this sport. No way. ’Cos I know the sport don’t love you back.”
      Anthony discusses the scrutiny that comes with being a high-profile boxer making vast sums of money — and how it affects him.
      He said: “I love boxing, but not all bull***t that comes with it.
      “You put so much pressure on yourself to be this big star and be perfect and, I tell you now, the higher you are, the bigger the drop.
      “That big status pulls you away from your core values. I just want to be normal.”
      By 2021 Anthony had lost his titles to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, and in the rematch a year later he threw the champions’ belts out of the ring before taking to the microphone.
      He told the stunned crowds: “Sorry, guys. Look, if you knew my story you’d understand the passion.
      “I ain’t no amateur boxer from youth. I was looking at jail.
      “I’m stealing this Usyk, I’m sorry, but it’s because of the f***ing passion. I’m not a 12-round fighter, I’m a new breed of heavyweight.”
      Louis asked Anthony about the intense event — which created a moment of friction between the interviewer and the boxer.
      Anthony said: “My ego and pride made me drop the belts ’cos they didn’t mean anything anyway.
      “I brought this heavyweight division back — that’s like, that was in me, right or wrong.”
      Louis interjects: “Probably wrong. I don’t think anybody thinks it was the right thing to have done.”
      Anthony said: “You asked me a question so I’m answering it.
      “I’ve thrown them because that’s what I felt like. I grabbed the mic and addressed the crowd. Could I have done it better? Of course.
      “But I’d just finished a 12-round fight and I felt frustrated. I knew I was out of the title race.
      “Then all the questions started. ‘What is he like? where’s his head at?’ All this. Can he be three-times champion of the world?
      “People now create this narrative and put this pressure on me. It’s too much.
      “Gone are the days when it was just for the fun, when you were just doing it for the passion, your prospects.”
      But there’s one man he still passionately wants to fight — and that’s his long-time nemesis Tyson Fury who, he reckons, sounds like a man “who’s swallowed a frog”.
      Anthony said: “I think I could beat him.
      Read More on The Sun
      “It wouldn’t be easy, but that’s good. It’s a challenge I’d be up for.”

      The second series of Louis Theroux Interviews is on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two from November 7 at 9pm.

      AJ has played a big role in the past at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins AwardsCredit: Alpha Press More

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      in Soccer

      These kids football clubs have all been handed £1k with the Sun’s grant – and you could too

      by

      THESE kids’ football clubs scored a win by getting their hands on cash from our fab Footie For All Fund.They are the first delighted recipients of £1,000 grants to help keep their squads going.
      Our Footie For All Fund has given out £150,000 in grants to deserving clubsCredit: NNP
      We teamed up with Tesco’s Stronger Starts programme
      Former England star John Terry backed our campaignCredit: Getty
      Last month we teamed up with Tesco’s Stronger Starts programme to give out £150,000 in grants to deserving clubs.
      And we have been inundated with stories of teams making a difference in their communities.
      From buying new boots and kit to allowing more kids to play for free, grants will help them make more of an impact.
      And there is still time for you to enter as the new deadline for applications is now noon on November 13.
      read more on football
      Former England star John Terry backed our campaign to keep kids playing despite the cost-of-living crisis making it difficult for parents to fund their children’s training.
      John said: “I’ve seen first-hand how football can change someone’s life.
      “It doesn’t matter if it becomes a career or just something you continue playing for fun.
      “For anyone to lose the chance to play footie would be a tragedy, but we all know times are tough for everyone thanks to rising prices.
      Most read in Football
      “I loved my time playing at grassroots level when I was little, and I want everyone to have that feeling of joy.
      “It’s great that The Sun’s Footie For All Fund is helping clubs out, thanks to Tesco’s generous donation.”
      Christine Heffernan, Tesco Group communications director, said: “From the range of applications that have come in so far and the stories we have heard, it’s clear to see that football clubs up and down the country need the support more than ever and that we’re reaching hundreds more children as a result of this funding.
      “It’s encouraging to know that the Tesco Stronger Starts and Footie for All partnership will be getting children into doing what they love, playing more footie more often.”
      Here we show how our deserving recipients are putting the money to work so far.
      BEAMISH FC, STANLEY, COUNTY DURHAM
      THIS grassroots team near Gateshead gives more than 450 kids a chance to play football in a safe space throughout the week.
      The club is using its £1,000 grant to purchase full kits for its new reception-aged group to ensure no child feels out of place.
      It means the tots, aged four to five, will get a Beamish FC shirt, shorts and jumper as well as a pair of sports socks.
      Team fundraising manager, Deborah Maddison, told The Sun: “We operate in quite a deprived area which means that the cost of living is hitting families hard.
      “As a club, we work really hard to make sure it is as accessible as possible for parents to send their kids here.
      “Everything we do costs, which means we rely on grants like this to keep the club up and running.”
      HEMINGTON HAMMERS FC, DERBY
      THE Derbyshire club used to only have adult teams but decided last year to open up an under-tens squad aimed at deprived kids.
      The move came after they heard from parents that many children in inner-city Derby weren’t able to play the beautiful game due to financial barriers.
      Hemington Hammers opened up last year to give deprived kids a chance to play footieCredit: Paul Tonge
      Club vice chairman Andrew Bennett said: “We’ve seen their confidence grow as they’ve got better and better.
      “They started the season losing most of their games and now they’re starting to win some.”
      Hemington Hammers is using the £1,000 grant to accelerate their plans to take more kids on, purchase kit, pay for the training of new coaches for additional teams and cover admin costs such as first aid kits.
      Andrew added: “We have seen that there is a demand for low-cost football, as we filled the first team in a matter of weeks.
      “Now we hope to get more kids involved.
      “The simple thing is, the more funding we get to put on the sessions, the cheaper we will make it for the kids, so they always have somewhere to play.”
      PELICAN PARK COMMUNITY TRUST, HULL
      PELICAN Park Community Trust in Hull does more than helping kids stay fit – it provides a chance for them to socialise and get away from potentially tough situations at home.
      Now, thanks to The Sun and Tesco’s Footie For All grants, 50 more children are able to attend.
      Pelican Park Community Trust in Hull provides a chance for kids to socialise and get away from potentially tough situations at homeCredit: Glen Minikin
      Jannette Hornby, charity manager, said: “We don’t want anyone to miss out on proper football training because of personal circumstances.
      For many, it is a chance to run around and play in a safe environment, and that is vital for kids of all ages.”
      Hull is one of the most underprivileged areas in the country, and a quarter of children in the city live with low income families.
      The charity has been subsidising households who can no longer afford the training fees due to financial struggles.
      They also offer a boot swap and provide kit free of charge, so no one is left out.
      Read More on The Sun
      Within just a few sessions, coaches and staff see a huge difference in the children who come.
      Jannette added: “It’s a gateway for everyone into feeling better.”
      THERE’S STILL TIME TO NET £1,000 FOR YOUR CLUBDOES your child’s football club need a cash injection to keep it on the pitch?
      Our Footie For All Fund is offering £1,000 grants to under-18s sides who are struggling in the financial crisis.
      We have teamed up with Tesco’s Stronger Starts programme to give out £150,000 in grants and want to hear about your local club and what it does for the community.
      We launched our fund after teams across the country told us how some kids are dropping out as families struggle financially.
      Perhaps your side wants to offer parents help with fees, or needs new kit or space to play on.
      See tescostrongerstarts.org.uk/footiefund to apply.
      Applications close on November 13.
      Grants are given on a rolling basis so it could start helping your club within weeks. More

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      in Soccer

      How Everton chairman Bill Kenwright rose from Corrie to chairman of hometown club via some of West End’s biggest hits

      by

      IN a long and distinguished career, Bill Kenwright was many things to many people.To theatre-goers he was the impresario behind West End hits Blood Brothers and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
      Bill Kenwright lived with his long-term partner, actress Jenny SeagroveCredit: Rex
      Bill as Gordon, left, on Corrie in 1969Credit: Rex Features
      Bill directed West End hit Blood Brothers in 1983Credit: Donald Cooper
      To football fans he was chairman of his beloved Everton FC for 19 years — and to soap fans Coronation Street’s Gordon Clegg, who appeared from 1968 to 1969 then popped up again until 2012.
      But to all who knew him, his death on Monday, aged 78, from liver cancer was a bitter blow.
      Bill lived with his long-term partner, actress Jenny Seagrove, 66, and had a daughter, Lucy, from a previous relationship.
      Despite his fame he was an intensely private man and hated being interviewed.
      Read More on Bill Kenwright
      He said: “People don’t understand this about me because I shout my productions to the rooftops and love talking about Everton.”
      He added: “I am very private, but can only talk in one way — though I don’t want to come across as a passionate buffoon.”
      Liverpool born and bred, Bill got the acting bug after childhood trips to the city’s cinemas with is gran.
      While he lived most of his adult life in London, he maintained a lifelong attachment to his home city and said “my past was what moulded me”.
      Most read in Football
      He added: “I don’t think I had an easy childhood. I was very shy, nervous and timid and we weren’t rich. In Everton player Dave Hickson I found a sort of guide — he taught me how to dare.
      “From my family I had protection and comfort and, in Mum, a spirit that said I could do anything I wanted. I wanted to be Errol Flynn and I loved Alan Ladd in (1953 Western) Shane. I didn’t just want to be an actor, I wanted to be a film star.”
      Already treading the boards at the Liverpool Playhouse at age 12, he left home at 17 to join a London youth theatre and in 1968 made his Corrie debut as teenager Gordon, who lived above the paper shop with his aunt and uncle.
      But Bill shocked producers by leaving after just a year. His time in the soapland spotlight had led to him wanting to work behind the scenes.
      Recalling the late Corrie veteran Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner, he said: “I remember Pat telling me on day one, ‘You’re a good-looking lad from Liverpool — and you’ve got no idea what will happen to you when you appear on that screen’.
      Everton chairman Bill and owner Farhad Moshir unveil boss Frank Lampard in January 2022Credit: Getty
      Bill as a star guest on pop show Lift Off, 1970Credit: Rex
      “I was shocked. My character was the first teenager written into a soap to attract teenage viewers. It was an extraordinary situation and I really didn’t like it. That’s one of the reasons I left.”
      Bill’s love of the West End drew him to producing and directing and his company, Bill Kenwright Ltd, is the world’s most prolific theatre production company in the world, bringing hundreds of productions to theatres across the planet.
      A close collaborator of West End kings Sir Tim Rice and Lord Lloyd- Webber, Bill directed their hits Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
      He was nominated for a London Theatre Critics’ Award for his work on West Side Story and a Tony Award for a Broadway run of Blood Brothers.
      He also produced numerous films.
      These included 2009 romcom Cheri, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, 2021 hit Heathers: The Musical, and this year’s comedy thriller The Kill Room, starring Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, plus Gemma Arterton crime drama The Critic.
      In 2001 he won a CBE for services to film and theatre.
      I was a timid child but I could go on my own to Goodison Park because I felt safe there. When Dave Hickson and that team ran out on to the pitch, I was in heaven with my gods.Bill Kenwright
      But it was perhaps his first love, football, that inspired him most.
      A director at Everton from 1989, he became club chairman in 2004 and remained so until his death.
      The club shone a light into his lonely childhood.
      He said: “I was more timid than shy but I could go on my own to Goodison as a kid because I felt safe there.
      “When Dave Hickson and that team ran out on to the pitch I was in heaven with my gods. It gave me a feeling of absolute safety.”
      He married Anouska Hempel, the actress turned society hotelier and interior designer, in 1978, only to divorce after less than a year.
      There followed a long relationship with actress Virginia Stride, now 87, which produced daughter Lucy, now 45 and a successful TV producer with two children.
      But his true love and partner for his last three decades was actress Jenny Seagrove who he met at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1993 when she was starring in Noel Coward play Present Laughter.
      She said in 2017: “Bill’s a force of nature, larger than life.
      “It’s a privilege to live with him. He’s got the biggest heart of anybody I’ve ever met. He’s made me a better person.”
      She added: “I’ve made him feel safe, given him the confidence to dive off that high board.”
      Read More on The Sun
      A self-confessed workaholic, Bill was worth an estimated £33million — but lived for passion, rather than money and its trappings.
      He said: “I never see myself retiring, not at all.”
      Bill married and divorced Anouska Hempel – an actress turned society hotelierCredit: Rex
      Bill said: ‘I was a timid child but I could go on my own to Goodison Park because I felt safe there’Credit: Handout More

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      in Boxing

      Baby Tyson was 1lb and docs said he’d die. I said: ‘No, he’s a warrior. He’ll be 7ft tall & world champ, says John Fury

      by

      JOHN Tyson, the dad of WBC world heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, has written a knockout account of his wild and wayward life as a bare-knuckle fighter and no-nonsense minder – and we have exclusive extracts from the book, When Fury Takes Over. In Day One he tells how premature baby Tyson was not expected to survive – and how Jesus spoke to him in his jail cell.
      Tyson Fury’s dad John has written a book about raising a future world heavyweight champCredit: MacMillan
      The knockout account tells how Jesus appeared to him when he was in prisonCredit: Alamy
      “THE night that Tyson was born is something I’ll never forget.It was August, and the baby was due in seven weeks’ time.
      My wife Amber and I had had problems with previous births.
      Hearing that she had gone into labour, I left work and went straight to Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester.
      It was a foul night of thunder and lightning, rain pouring down as if it was the end of the world.
      READ MORE ON THE FURYS
      Again, there were complications for my lad. Tyson had been born massively premature and weighed only 1lb — small enough to fit into the palm of my hand.
      The doctors said he wouldn’t make it, but I saw something completely different — a little warrior with a glint in his eye and his fist held up, as if he was ready to take on the world.
      I said to the doctor: “That boy is special, he is going to live and he’s going to be almost 7ft tall, weigh 20st, and one day he’s going to be the heavyweight champion of the world, mark my words.”
      When a gypsy gets a funny feeling in his stomach, you should always listen to them — the chances are they’ll be right.
      Most read in Boxing
      John reveals that he had a funny feeling about Tyson when he arrived, even though he was born prematurelyCredit: MacMillan
      As Tyson grew up, there were problems for the first four years. He kept overheating and suffering delusions.
      He would have terrifying hallucinations that lions, monsters and demons were trying to eat him.
      Amber and I would pack him in ice and rush him to hospital. I started to take him outside for the natural medicine of fresh air.
      Once, I took him to a golf course. I was mucking around with a golf club when the president of the club appeared in the distance.
      He started shouting and walking towards me, so I picked up Tyson and legged it.
      I tried to jump over a ditch but the bank gave way beneath me and I landed with all my 20st on my baby son’s leg and snapped it.
      It sounded like a dry stick being broken. I took him home, he was shaking and sobbing in my arms.
      Naturally Amber was fuming, and I was devastated. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life, never mind for my poor son.
      “How could you get this wrong?” I asked myself. How can a father break his own child’s leg?
      “You can see the bone sticking out of his leg!” screamed Amber.I hung my head in shame.
      “You’re absolutely right. I’m a misfit and not capable of being a father,” I agreed.
      We took him to hospital where they performed emergency surgery on the limb.
      It haunted me, seeing his little leg with a steel bolt through it.
      For me there is nothing worse than causing pain to one of my sons, intentional or not.
      Now, 33 years on, it still brings a tear to my eye when I think of it.
      Over the next six weeks, Tyson wore a kind of protective pot on his leg.
      It didn’t stop him crawling around the house at speed or drawing boxing gloves.
      After this traumatic event, I’m glad to say the rest of Tyson’s childhood was smooth as milk.
      He was 11 years old when he decided he wanted to take up boxing.
      Me, I didn’t want him to go down that route, so I gave him no encouragement whatsoever.
      But he was determined to do it and he found an amateur gym on the other side of Wythenshawe.
      When he went to school in Styal, Cheshire, he was huge compared to the other boys in his class.
      He would often get taunted by older boys, but the difference between Tyson and me was that he learned self-control and discipline at an early age, and he was better at controlling his red mist.”
      John recalls how Tyson was 11 when he decided that he wanted to take up boxing, well before he broke several recordsCredit: Alamy
      John says he did not give Tyson any encouragement to begin with, as he did not want his son to go down that routeCredit: Getty
      “I REMEMBER the summer of 1969 and one of many trips to Yorkshire.
      Some of my mum’s people were up there working at Martin’s Farm in Norton, picking fruit on a family estate called Castle Howard, the baroque palace in Garfield II and Brideshead Revisited.
      Six miles from the estate was a huddle of derelict red-brick farm buildings, where we pitched up our trailer and car.
      One day a whole lot of blackbirds and crows started to gather. There must have been more than 100.
      It was like something out of that Hitchcock film, The Birds.
      In Romani lore — my mother’s lore — a large collection of black-feathered birds signifies the coming of death and a predator among us.
      The messengers of doom then started their assault on our home.
      The air was full of their cawing, the flapping of their wings and their talons tearing at the paintwork.
      The noise was insufferable. Then, as quickly as they had come, they began to disperse.
      My dad had this ominous knack of knowing when something bad was about to happen.
      “Something terrible has happened to one of our own,” he said.
      Within half an hour, we saw a solitary police car rattling down the lane toward us. This was the messenger of doom.
      The copper looked at my parents uncomfortably and said: “Your nephew, Owen, has just been killed in a car accident, just 15 miles down the road.”
      It was my cousin. At the time the crows had attacked us, Owen had died and met his maker.
      Six years earlier, he had been hawking carpets with my granny.
      At one door, a woman’s gaze fell on Owen and she said: “Do not ever take this boy near the coast, because it will be his demise.”
      It had been six years from when the medium first laid eyes on Owen, to his horrible death, just a short distance from the sea.”

      “ON both sides of my family, we were very religious.
      When I went to prison for the first time, serving an 11-year sentence for a fight in which another traveller lost an eye, I never questioned my faith, nor tried to blame it on God that he had landed me in such a horrible place.
      It was my actions, and my actions alone that had taken me there.
      Jesus has come through for me that many times when things have got rough — more times than I can remember.
      Two years into my sentence, Tyson rang up, sounding hollow and scared.
      He was in Sheffield hospital and his little son Prince, who was only one year old, was very ill with meningitis. “They told me he’s going to die, Dad.”
      I said: “Listen, son, they told me you were going to die, so that’s rubbish.
      “Your son is going to be all right. I’m going to call you tomorrow in the morning, and your son is going to be here.”
      Back in my cell, I sat down on my bunk and took up my old Bible.
      As I read, the words were leaping out at me in a more pronounced way than usual.
      It was as if the letters had been dipped in gold.
      The more I read, the calmer I was becoming. I said a prayer under my breath: “Dear Lord, I’m in need of help today. Well, not me, my grandson.
      “He’s struggling a bit, but keep your hands on him and do the best you can for him, please.” Then I fell asleep.
      My eyes open suddenly. At the bottom end of the bed stands the figure of a man, and though I can’t see his face in much detail, I know it is the shape of Jesus.
      Then with a voice as clear as a bell, the figure says: “Everything will be OK.”
      Pure joy passes through me, like someone has just told me that I’m to be released from my prison sentence in the morning.
      It’s four o’clock in the morning and I feel like bursting out into song!
      At 6.45am I call Tyson to see how his boy is. “Everything’s all right, isn’t it, son?”
      “Yes, Dad, it is. You were right again. He came right in the night — some time between 3 and 4am.”
      Read More on The Sun
      After that moment, I sailed through the rest of my sentence.”

      When Fury Takes Over, by John Fury, (Macmillan) is out on Thursday, £22.

      John Fury’s book is out Thursday, for £22Credit: MacMillan More