Villa Park is one of the stops on an upcoming charity cycle ride, ‘Ride for Ugo’, taking place in memory of former Aston Villa player Ugo Ehiogu.
Ehiogu, who made 274 appearances in claret and blue during nine years at the club, passed away at the age of 44 in April 2017 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
He was working as an Under-23 coach at Tottenham Hotspur at the time of his death, and one of his former colleagues is taking on the charity bike ride to raise money for leading heart charity, London Hearts.
Laurence Gant, Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Science at Spurs, will cycle between the five football clubs Ehiogu played for during five days in April.
Starting at Glasgow Rangers, Gant heads to Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Sheffield United before arriving at Villa Park on Saturday, April 9 ahead of our Premier League match against Tottenham.
The final leg of the journey will see Laurence cycle from Villa Park to Tottenham Hotspur’s Training Ground.
Gant said: “Ugo was one of the most inspirational people I ever had the privilege of knowing. Football is an amazing sport that not only allows people to exercise but to also join a community providing support and help to others at all levels.
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“Through the challenge, I am hoping to raise money in his memory to deliver defibrillators and training to grassroots football so we can support people of all ages to play and enjoy football safely.”
Money raised will go towards buying defibrillators and providing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training for grassroots football clubs.
CPR training helps raise awareness of cardiac arrests and gives people the ability and confidence to save lives. By administering CPR, it increases the possibility of surviving cardiac arrest.
Anyone wishing to donate to ‘Ride for Ugo’ can do so via the link below.
Ride for Ugo
