Football Fan Fin Pays it Forward

The family and friends of a teenage boy, who has a life-limiting condition, has raised more than £9000 to help Make-A-Wish UK grant other children’s wishes.

Brighton & Hove Albion fan Finley Williams – known as The Mighty Fin on Facebook – was born with a complex, genetic condition called Mowat-Wilson Syndrome and Hirshsprungs Disease. It led to him having developmental delay, seizures and heart surgery.

Fin feels that his wish is granted every time he goes to watch his beloved Albion’s home games with his dad Paul – despite the 12-hour, 600-mile round trip from their home in North Wales.

He has become well-known to the club’s players, management and fellow supporters, so his family and friends wanted to share 16-year-old Fin’s infectious enthusiasm by releasing a charity single and YouTube film called Some Beautiful Memories.

It was written by singer songwriter Neil Avery to capture the amazing bond that Fin and his dad share, as well as the bond created by those who share a passion like football.

The film was edited by Fin’s carer, Josh Bellis, and produced by the BBC’s The One Show director Simon Weizman to coincide with the brief return of football fans to stadiums in December.

After featuring in the local paper and on the radio show TalkSport, the charity single has now raised enough money to grant at least four wishes https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/TheMightyFin

Fin’s dad Paul Williams said: “The Mighty Fin comes alive during our trips. Every second is a moment to savour for me. I will probably outlive my son and so making beautiful memories is very important to me. We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to create beautiful memories with their lovely children too! Many people can't afford to do that, so that is where Make-A-Wish UK comes in.”

Grace Mercer, Supporter Experience Manager for Make-A-Wish said: “We are so grateful to Paul, Neil and Fin for choosing to support Make-A-Wish UK. It’s really touching that they wanted to ‘pay it forward’ by helping other seriously ill children have a wish, bringing them the sort of joy that Fin experiences every time he watches his beloved football team play. Huge thanks to the football community for their donations. Right now, we need their help more than ever because Make-A-Wish has more than 1500 children waiting for their wish - including dozens related to football – and those wishes are so vital to a child’s resilience during tough times.”

Media contact

Simon Henry
Make-A-Wish UK Communications
[email protected]
07786 650922
Make-A-Wish UK, 7th Floor, Thames Tower, Station Road, Reading, RG1 1LX

For images or video footage to support this story, please contact [email protected]

About Make-A-Wish UK

Every day, the lives of 10 families in the UK are changed forever when a child is diagnosed with a serious illness. From that moment, childhood takes a backseat to medical appointments and worry. A wish helps to restore that childhood and puts worry on the backseat. It provides an opportunity to choose something positive to look forward to and the chance to be a child first and a patient second.

Make-A-Wish UK is a registered charity that was established in the UK in 1986 to support children and young people diagnosed with a serious illness or life-limiting condition, by granting them their dearest wish. The charity receives no Government funding - registered charity numbers: 295672 in England and Wales, SC037479 in Scotland.

Notes to editors

We do not use the phrase ‘terminally ill’ and ask that you follow suit because some poorly children and young people are not made aware of the exact nature of their diagnosis and we respect their family’s approach to their situation. Some also recover fully from their illness.

Please refer to us as Make-A-Wish^® UK in the first instance to distinguish us from affiliates in other countries. Thereafter ‘Make-A-Wish’ is suitable.

Please hyperlink to our website (https://www.make-a-wish.org.uk) when you mention Make-A-Wish online.

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