![\"Lewis](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/964443445af230539b652a19c3f4a895.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n“It was quite lovely to know how much of a family club they really are.”<\/p>\n
Sam Rogers’ dad Duncan was receiving end-of-life care from Thames Hospice when Reading FC captain Lewis Wing came to visit.<\/p>\n
His dad was bedbound for two months, and Lewis spent 45 minutes chatting with him at his bedside.<\/p>\n
Grateful for what the facility in Maidenhead had done, Sam and his friend Jack Jarvis, from Winkfield, have decided to hold a fundraising event that involves a 90-minute charity football match on Sunday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reading FC Captain Lewis Wing visited Sam’s dad Duncan at Thames Hospice [Sam Rogers]<\/p>\n
Thames Hospice FC is a team of people who lost family members who received care there and will be playing against a side comprising of friends and family.<\/p>\n
Taking place at Binfield FC’s ground on Sunday, there will also be live music, stalls, a craft station for children and massages available.<\/p>\n
Entry fees are going towards fundraising for the hospice, and Sam and Jack have so far raised \u00a32,235 on their JustGiving page and are hoping to reach \u00a339,000.<\/p>\n
Stephanie Peters, head of marketing and communications at Thames Hospice, said that to “see Sam and Jack now bringing people together through football, friendship and fundraising is incredibly special”.<\/p>\n
![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/5cb90021677bb7491a00103e2145d2dc.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Jack (centre) lost his mum and dad within 28 days of each other [Sam Rogers]<\/p>\n
She added: “There is something really powerful about a group of men coming together, having a shared purpose and creating a space where they can talk openly, support one another and remember the people they have lost.”<\/p>\n
Jack lost his mum and dad 28 days apart and they were both cared for at Thames Hospice.<\/p>\n
He recalled having to juggle being in the hospice while his mother was in the hospital and the support he received.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to the fundraising event, Sam said creating a football team of men whose relatives received care from Thames Hospice before they died had become “almost bigger than raising X amount of money”.<\/p>\n
![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/a7497c83e402f6e8d387283c8436770b.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Sam’s father Duncan died in January [Sam Rogers]<\/p>\n
It has allowed them to “create a little community”, he said, with the group becoming a “safe space where everyone knows what each other has been through”.<\/p>\n
The collaboration between Thames Hospice and Reading FC meant Sam’s dad was able to watch matches via a streaming service.<\/p>\n
He also watched a match from a hospitality suite in November last year. This proved to be the last game he attended before his death in January.<\/p>\n