JAKARTA - Enter Shikari's bass player Chris Batten signed a deal with St Albans club to make his professional football debut at the age of 35. The decision was taken by Batten with a noble purpose.
Quoted from the Mirror, Tuesday, March 29, Batten is willing to change his position as a rock music star to a player on the gridiron in order to appear in the friendly match between St Albans cons Dagenham and Redbridge. The match was held specifically as a fundraising effort for an appeal to Ukraine.
The friendly match is planned to be held on Saturday, April 2nd and is part of the agenda of the Community Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to raise funds to be given to victims in Ukraine.
Through his Twitter account, Batten, who will start the match from the bench, enthusiastically welcomed this opportunity. He also can't wait to try out his debut as a professional footballer.
"The time has come to finally make my professional football debut, all with the help of @decappeal," said Batten.
Furthermore, Batten also did not forget to say thank you for this opportunity. Considering this is a friendly match that was held to raise funds, the rockstar also did not forget to invite fans to participate by buying as many tickets as possible.
"Thanks to @stalbanscityfc and @Dag_RedFC for giving me the opportunity to drastically reduce the quality of football."
The time has come to finally make my professional footballing debut, all in aid of @decappeal . Thank you to @stalbanscityfc and @Dag_RedFC for granting me the opportunity to drastically bring the quality of football down. #battenonthebench https://t.co/h21WknYkH6
— Chris Batten (@EnterChris) March 23, 2022
“Last week I officially signed for the mighty St Albans City FC. I made my pro debut at the age of 35 on April 2 at 3pm. . All in the help of #Ukraine attraction. If you want to see my performance, you can buy tickets here (link)," said Batten.
Meanwhile, the same source also explained that the St Albans club had given an official statement that this match was intended to raise funds for victims in Ukraine affected by the Russian invasion.
“More than 18 million people are expected to be affected by the conflict in Ukraine with four million people expected to be displaced, leaving their jobs, property and loved ones behind. At least three million people have been displaced. fleeing their homes to escape conflict," read a St Albans statement.
A Game For Ukraine!On Sat April 2nd - 3pm I will be making an appearance for the mighty @stalbanscityfc with all proceeds going to Ukraine relief. To view my embarrassment you can buy tickets here-https://t.co/hcepcKVCVVVirtual tickets-https://t.co/Te1WQIniJy@ENTERSHIKARI pic.twitter.com/vDcL0QVieR
— Chris Batten (@EnterChris) March 28, 2022
"The donations will help provide food, water, shelter, health care and protection," the statement continued, explaining the purpose of the fundraising.
As a friendly match aimed at raising funds, tickets will be sold at a price of 10 pounds, or equivalent to Rp. 188,000 for the adult category and 5 pounds, or Rp. 94 thousand for those under 16 years.
The adult ticket price includes a contribution of £9 (Rp169 thousand) to DEC, while tickets for under 16 years include a £4.50 (Rp84 thousand) donation.
Furthermore, St Albans also said they will provide virtual tickets for supporters who cannot attend in person at the location but still want to participate. For these virtual tickets, all sales profits will be donated to DEC.
“Virtual tickets are also available for purchase for anyone unable to attend the match but who may wish to support the cause. The full amount paid for the virtual ticket will be donated to the appeal," the club said in a statement.
Before St Albans held a friendly match for fundraising, a number of other clubs also did the same. Last week, Colchester United announced that the proceeds from ticket sales from their League Two match against Forest Green Rovers would be donated to Ukraine's appeal.
They have confirmed they have raised more than £67,000 so far. While the opposing team contributed £61,400 (Rp1.1 billion).
For online donations via the Just Giving page, £5,800 has been raised and it will remain open until the end of the season. Later, all the money raised by the club will be donated to the Red Cross.
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