Two Millwall fans are about to ‘walk around Bermondsey wearing West Ham shirts’ to raise money for a young goalie with a ‘few months to live’ to get treatment that could save his life.
Bill Slack and Nick Hart will walk from the Den to the London Stadium in aid of Oscar who signed for West Ham United as a goalkeeper aged 9.
The 14-year-old was diagnosed with a rare cancerous brain tumour a year ago.
The GoFundMe explains that since last summer Oscar has undergone 7 surgeries, one round of chemo and one round of radiotherapy. He has now been told he has a few months to live.
In what could be a glimmer of hope, his family has found a groundbreaking treatment for him, but the closest place he can get it is France. The cost is £100,000.
Bill, a lifelong Millwall fan, said he found Oscar’s story online and felt they could help him.
This isn’t the first time the pair have put the historic rivalry aside for a good cause.
In 2018, they helped to raise over £27,000 for a three-year-old West Ham fan, Isla Caton who was battling neuroblastoma at the time.
Isla sadly passed away in 2022, but hundreds of thousands have been raised in her memory for other kids fighting the same battle.
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Bill told the News: “Last time it just helped raise so much awareness and publicity, we thought we could do it again for him.
“Wearing a West Ham shirt is a big decision for any Millwall supporter.”
But he admitted: “We only really hate each other when we play, which is hardly ever.”
Lifelong Lions fan, Nick, who runs the number one Millwall supporters’ podcast said he’s happy to take on the challenge, despite having to wear a different kit.
“For a cause like this, it’s well worth it,” he said.
The 63-year-old added: “I’m going to have to go to Sports Direct and buy another one as I got rid of the first one.”
The walk is on Sunday 13 October and will start at the Den and end at the West Ham Stadium. They deliberately chose a weekend of international break for football so there was ‘no excuse’ for as many fans as possible to get involved – from both sides.
Read Oscar’s story and donate here.
