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KEIOC are proud to support the Oliver King Foundation and we would urge all Evertonians to sign their e-petition.
Oliver attended King David Primary school and started at King David High School in September 2010. He was a keen sportsman who excelled in football, swimming, athletics and many other sports. Oliver passed away suddenly in March 2011, aged 12, from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).
This condition usually affects people between the ages of 12 and 35. The Government recognises that 12 young people each week die from SADS but it is believed that the true figure is around 16-19 people each week and could be higher as the condition is often misdiagnosed. The recent events involving Muamba have only served to highlight the importance of bringing this condition into the public eye.
Muamba’s situation has also highlighted the importance of defibrillators. Without a defibrillator on the pitch side, Muamba may not have been so lucky. The Foundation believes that all athletes, not just professionals, should have access to defibrillators when training and competing in their chosen sports.
With these issues in mind, we have set up an e-petition calling on the Government to help the Foundation achieve it’s 3 main aims:
1. To help raise awareness of the condition as it can be controlled and monitored if detected. Raising awareness is of vital importance as young people with the condition do not usually show symptoms.
2. To places defibrillators in all public buildings, including schools and sports centres, and to provide staff with the relevant training.
3. To set up a screening programme, which would allow all young people between 12 and 35 to have their hearts checked through a simple ECG.
In order for this issue to be carried forward to the House of Commons we are required to collect 100,000 signatures. Oliver loved Everton. We are asking you as fellow Evertonians to help us save lives so that something positive can come out of the loss of such a beautiful young man. Please sign the e-petition:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29399
You can also find out more about the work we do through our website:www.theoliverkingfoundation.co.uk or follow us on twitter: @TheOKFoundation
Today, 10th March, marks the 9th anniversary of the death of Andrew Jones who was walking along Hanover Street on his way home after a night out when he was attacked, for no reason, by a gang of six males and four females. No one, so far, has ever been brought to justice for his murder.
Andrew was born on 2nd April 1984. He attended Florence Melly infants and junior school and later went on to Anfield Comprehensive. He was a fanatical Everton supporter, although he had a lot of respect for other teams; he went to Anfield after the Hillsborough disaster and insisted on putting his Everton scarf along with all the other tributes people had left.
Andrew was attacked at the junction of Hanover Street and Gradwell Street in Liverpool’s city centre. He was walking along, minding his own business, when the group of six men and at least four women walked passed him. Accidently bumping into one of them, he said sorry and carried on walking.
This was not good enough for them and they decided to follow him back down the street hurling abuse and threatening him. Obviously, being alone he would not have been able to defend himself. While his head was turned away one of them swung a punch at him so hard it broke his jaw and he fell back and hit his head on the pavement, so hard it fractured his skull and his head started pouring with blood almost immediately. While he was on the ground, one of them decided to give him a kick while he lay dying.
The parallels with the deaths of Andrew and fellow Evertonian and colleague A.J. Clark are uncanny. AJ’s family finally obtained closure when his killer was brought to justice last year. KEIOC join Andrew’s family in the hope that justice can also be done over the people responsible for Andrew’s tragically premature death.
RIP Andrew.
The Blue Union wishes to announce that following significant fan feedback via our various constituent member groups, Saturday’s planned “day of protest” in conjunction with the Tottenham Hotspur home game has now been suspended.
As a group we have consistently stressed that we exist in order to represent the fans, to listen to their views and to provide the vehicle that can bring our collective ideas together and create a positive, all-inclusive, platform from which we can ensure that our concerns are heard.
The organisation of Saturday’s planned protest began in earnest following The Blue Union’s third and most recent public meeting, during which a clear consensus of opinion was reached amongst those in attendance that further positive action was supported, and that the nature of that action needed to be taken to “the next level”.
The Blue Union have responded brilliantly to an article published on the Everton fan site ‘Dixie’s Sixty’ which allegedly offered the view of a middle ground supporter criticising both The Blue Union and the club’s board yet ultimately portrays a lack of knowledge on the motivation and beliefs of The Blue Union.........
The Blue Union, having read through the article, explain that they’re saddened that an Evertonian feels not only the need to attack and misrepresent the actions of fellow Evertonians but also to so vehemently misunderstand the role of the Blue Union; it’s even sadder that other Evertonians believe that this is the best article they’ve ever read [see comments] when there exists a plethora of factual information on the subject of the source of the angst between fan and board.
The piece is an amalgam of opinions backed up by little more than more opinion, which is, of course, the role of fan websites; but rather than attacking Evertonians for exposing what is going on at Goodison, it may be slightly more productive to look at what The Blue Union are really saying, what they’re actually advocating and gauge them on their results rather than on the perceptions of those removed from what is actually taking place.
Liverpool City Council leader, Joe Anderson, potential Labour candidate for City Mayor of Liverpool, a position which will attract millions of pounds of Government funding, explains to the Guardian why he’s tackling the delivery of The Football Quarter head on.
Regeneration in practice: Liverpool to create football quarter
by Joe Anderson
The Council leader explains his goals for the supporter-led sports regeneration scheme, as he tackles the challenges head-on.
The idea of a football quarter – using the home of a revered sports club to spearhead regeneration in the area around its stadium – is not new. What is unique about our proposals for Liverpool's own quarter is that they are designed to regenerate an area that boasts not one international stadium, but two. It has the potential to spark more local change than ever before.
The credit for this plan must go to the fans themselves, whose determination and drive has brought the project this far. Under the collective All Together Now, supporters groups from each side of that famous Liverpudlian footballing divide have put aside their rivalries to push for progress that can't wait – both in terms of the futures of their clubs, and what those clubs can do for the community in which they are based.
On Saturday members of KEIOC were saddened at the news that Spirit of Shankly Vice President Paul Rice had died peacefully at the Marie Curie Hospice in Woolton.
In his professional life Paul was a well known figure in the city’s business district where he was Chief Executive of Liverpool's Commercial District Partnership.
Members of KEIOC had often visited Paul during his long battle with illness which he faced with typical bravery and courage. KEIOC Secretary Colin Fitzpatrick and Chair Dave Kelly had visited Paul recently and reported that although obviously extremely ill he enthusiastically entered into the inevitable banter between Evertonian and Liverpudlian friends.
A statement on the Spirit of Shankly website said, “It is with deep regret and sadness that the Spirit of Shankly have to announce that one of the founders and Vice President of the union, Paul Rice, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the Marie Curie hospice at 11am this morning. Paul was an inspiration to all who met him and was a dedicated and passionate member of the organisation, always giving leadership and advice. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time."
KEIOC wish to extend their deepest condolences to Paul’s family, friends and colleagues..
Founding member of KEIOC, AJ Clarke, was killed in November 2007 by a single blow delivered by the then 21 year old Malik Al-Brumy. The blow caused massive brain injuries to which AJ, 45, later succumbed.
Despite an extensive appeal by police, including a feature on Crimewatch in 2009, Mr Al-Brumy and his friend Ben Thompson, who was present during the incident, remained quiet until a tip-off from a member of the public led to his arrest.
Sentencing Al-Brumby Judge Clement Goldstone QC explained, ““You left AJ Clarke lying where he was, with no concern for his wellbeing. You told the jury if you had known he had struck his head you would have gone to his assistance. You knew yet you did not. You have shown no remorse”
The thoughts of all members of KEIOC and no doubt all Evertonians are with Janet and AJ’s family and close friends.
On Wednesday December 28th 2011 Everton and Liverpool fans will launch their prospectus for The Football Quarter, a conceptual development which has the city’s two famous football clubs at its heart.
The prospectus will be launched in the Museum of Liverpool, a building that celebrates the history of the city of Liverpool, in an area that has undergone massive recent regeneration. The prospectus outlines our vision for the area surrounding both Everton FC and Liverpool FC.
In a city where your football club is seen as an intrinsic part of city life, woven into the very fabric of local society, two fan groups from across the divide, Keeping Everton in Our City [KEIOC] and The Spirit of Shankly [SoS], have unprecedentedly joined forces under the banner of “All Together Now” to develop a deliverable solution to their clubs long quest to solve their respective stadium problems.
Based around individual stadia, The Football Quarter is designed to confirm the city’s global sporting image as a destination and encourage the redevelopment of the immediate area in line with The North Liverpool Strategic Regeneration Framework [SRF]. The Football Quarter is designed to attract educational, community, recreational, leisure and retail facilities to an area which has modern stadia at Anfield and Goodison as its hub all serviced by a sustainable transport infrastructure.
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the untimely death of our friend and colleague AJ. Everyone at KEIOC will always recall his enthusiasm and life, his family and Everton Football Club. AJ, a well known and popular figure amongst Evertonians, supported his club wherever they played and was always the first to offer his services for any good cause or to any Evertonian down on their luck.
Sadly AJ was the victim of a senseless attack in the city centre in the early hours of November 25th 2007, an attack which left this decent, well loved, hardworking family man in a coma to which he later succumbed.
The perpetrator of this attack, Malik Al-Brumy, 24, of Fairfield, went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court in October of this year after denying the 2007 manslaughter of AJ. Mr Al-Brumy believed that he was about to be attacked by AJ and that he acted in self- defence. The prosecuting barrister suggested that CCTV evidence did not support the defendant’s claim but the jury were unable to reach a decision which means there will be a re-trial in the early part of 2012.
AJ’s many friends and fellow Evertonians are obviously sympathetic towards AJ’s family and close friends who will now have to suffer the additional stress of the re-trial but today we’re sure that everyone will take a few minutes to fondly remember a true gentleman and a great Evertonian who will always be sadly missed.