News

Shots Raise Money For Sahara UK

An Aldershot Town XI will face the Sahara UK team at the Electrical Services Stadium this Sunday, 19 October, at 1pm in a special challenge match to celebrate the Club’s new links with Rushmoor’s Nepalese community.

The Shots side will feature a mix of Academy players, fringe first-team squad members and trialists for a match which also acts as a fundraiser for the Sahara UK charity and January’s return fixture, when the Shots Academy will travel to Nepal to take part in the annual AAHA Gold Cup.

Admission is £10 (seating) and £5 (terrace) for adults, £5 (seating) and £3 (terrace) for under 19s. Children under 12 are admitted free.

Based in Farnborough, Sahara UK is a charity dedicated to alleviating poverty in the Pokhara region of Nepal, where the original Sahara FC is based. Founded in 2008 by Navin Gurung after leading a visit to the region by fellow British Midland Airways staff, he first became involved in the AAHA Gold Cup in 2005, when he took some of the best young Nepalese footballers from the UK to Pokhara.

The profits from the tournament were spent on improving the welfare of 18 underprivileged boys under the supervision of the Sahara club. Sahara Nepal also funded a sports centre and youth hostel for underprivileged children. Working alongside branches in Norway, Germany and Italy, Sahara UK and the Pokhara Academy Children’s Trust have previously held fundraising events, including football tournaments, concerts and dinners, across Europe and in Nepal.