POORLY children and young footballers were the beneficiaries of a successful black tie dinner at AFC Totton.

Organised by Joe Maxwell, head of AFC Totton In The Community and director of the Zuko Sports coaching company, the proceeds of the charity event were split between two good causes.

Half went to The Piam Brown Ward at Southampton General Hospital while the other half of the money will be used to buy new equipment for AFC Totton’s Academy & Development section.

The evening, attended by 100 people, raised a tidy £3,000.

There were 80 raffle prizes and 20 auction lots, including signed Alan Shearer and Southampton Football Club shirts.

Maxwell, who proudly handed over a £1,600 cheque to the Piam Brown children’s cancer ward, said: “It was a truly amazing night.

“We raised a massive amount of money, bigger than we had expected, for two great causes. I’d like to thank everybody who donated and came along.

“We would like to do more events like this as it is benefitting our local community in two different ways.

“The Piam Brown Ward is an incredible ward and I have met such lovely people there. We at AFC Totton are very proud to be helping such a good cause.

“It was amazing for Alan Shearer to help us out as well with some signed stuff.”

The fact that AFC Totton’s young footballers were also among the night’s big winners is a source of great pride to Maxwell.

“We have a project here and we would like to give kids the best opportunity to develop their football,” he explained. “We started AFC Totton In The Community in October 2014 and to get where we are now is incredible.

“It’s getting better the more time goes on. We have seen a lot of talented players come down and we have a good set of coaches.

“We are providing many (footballbased) holiday camps and birthday parties as well as starting our new Academy & Development teams.

“To be able to provide the children with a good set of equipment is fantastic.”

Totton are still looking for more players, aged under-8, under-9 and under-10, to join their Academy & Development set-up.

The youngsters train at the Testwood Stadium in Salisbury Road between 5.30pm and 6.30pm every Thursday.

For more information contact Joe Maxwell on 07546 495587 or email info@zukosports.co.uk.