Walsh to play ball for charity

Courtney Walsh's fans may be excited to know that their icon will be making a rare appearance on the field one more time, but not in his usual capacity. Before you go flooding the gates of Sabina Park, you may want to take a detour to the National Stadium East this Ash Wednesday, where Walsh and a host of other celebrities and sporting colleagues will be playing football - yes, football, for charity.

Walsh is no stranger to the annual charity event that has been tagged: The Bob Marley One Love Charity Football Match. The match will run in conjunction with another related sporting initiative - Celebolympics. The event is the brainchild of veteran footballer and close friend of Walsh, Clive 'Busy' Campbell, who has enlisted the aid of sports event planning professionals Blueprint Consulting to raise the profile of the event.

Since the game of football is what Walsh describes as his "second love", it didn't take much persuading for him to join the throng of celebrities that participate annually in the charity event, when 'Busy' Campbell approached him over five years ago. Other celebrities that are slated to don a jersey and kick some ball for charity include: Aidonia, Wayne Marshall, Elephant Man, Chris Martin and son of the reggae legend himself (of whom the event is named and inspired) - Rohan Marley.

'Cuddy', as Walsh is amicably called by his colleagues, is not threatened by the prowess of any of his opponents on the Entertainers' team. Instead, he joked that he is more concerned with the referees, "as they're always blowing me for offside," he adds.

At the recent press launch for the event held at The Barbican Beach, Walsh showcased his skills in a friendly scrimmage match in which he scored one of the deciding goals. However, the biggest goal, he says, "is to support Busy and his charity".

This year's initiative will benefit the Mustard Seed Communities, the Best Care Lodge, and the Special Olympics. This is the 29th staging of the event and Digicel is the proud title sponsor, while NCB is the official financial partner.