'I can do something in my daughter's honour': Northampton's Sixfields stadium will host charity game for bereaved dads

Northamptonshire dads who lost their babies to stillbirth and neonatal death will be playing a charity football match at the Sixfields Stadium next month.
The Niamh's Legacy heart badge is Rob's daughter's footprint, who he lost four days before she was due.The Niamh's Legacy heart badge is Rob's daughter's footprint, who he lost four days before she was due.
The Niamh's Legacy heart badge is Rob's daughter's footprint, who he lost four days before she was due.

The home of Northampton Town will help support the county's bereaved parents will a friendly 11-a-side made up of dads versus Sunday division team Eastern Eagles FC.

The game is in aid of Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity (SANDS) which supports grieving families.

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The match has been organised Rob Allen who will play for the dads' team and who lost his little girl Niamh four days before she was due in October 2017.

Rob said: "Those three days afterwards were the worst I will ever experience. I don't think I'll ever be challenged like I was then.

"When you lose a child, you lose all the chances to do things with them too. This way, I can do something in my daughter's honour and thank the people who helped get us out of that hole when we needed it."

At the match in May, the dads' team has been named after Rob's daughter and will play as Niamh's Legacy.

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The team will be playing in their own special kit using Niahm's footprint as a heart badge, with the names of their children printed on the back.

Sands help families with support groups, bereavement midwives and a dedicated room - the Snowdrop Suite - at Northampton General Hospital so parents can spend time with their child.

Kick off is at 6.30pm at the Sixfields Stadium on May 23.