1 week Ago
BRADFORD (Park Avenue) hosted a special event last Saturday to raise awareness for polio disease. The West Yorkshire based club proudly hosted the Jeff Hall Polio Awareness Day at Horsfall Community Stadium, paying tribute to the club’s former player and England international Jeff Hall, whose legacy continues to have a powerful impact to this day. In partnership with the Club’s official charity partner The British Polio Fellowship, the day was dedicated to raising awareness of polio and Post Polio Syndrome (PPS), a condition still affecting many polio survivors in the UK.
The day brought together club staff, supporters, members of the British Polio Fellowship and Polio Survivors Network and Rotarian’s. Some names included: Kripen Dhrona, CEO of the British Polio Fellowship, Emma Miller, Great Niece of Jeff Hall, John Huxley, President of the Rotary Club of Keighley and The Worth Valley, Thomas McStravick, Sporting Director of BPA, Pete Kenyon, Commercial Director of BPA and Mathew Everett, Community Director of the Bradford Park Avenue Sports Foundation. A powerful moment arrived before kick-off, when players and staff posed on the pitch with Jeff Hall’s original England shirt, worn during his debut against Denmark on December 5, 1956.
The match raised a total of £214.17, all of which will go towards supporting the British Polio Fellowship and their work with polio survivors across the UK. “Jeff was taken far too young at the peak of his career,” said Emma Miller.
“We’re incredibly proud to see his name continue to inspire awareness and positive change through events like this.” Jeff Hall's tragic death from polio in 1959, at just 29 years old, led to a surge in demand for polio vaccination across the UK and helped save a generation from the disease, which is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe symptoms develop such as headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia.
Bradford (Park Avenue) have thanked all supporters who attended, donated, and helped raise awareness..
