Signed Steven Gerrard and Virgil van Dijk football shirts and an autographed Peter Schmeichel goalkeeping glove were among coveted auction lots which helped UJIA raise £42,000 from its northern sports quiz.
Badminton Olympic silver medallist Gail Emms hosted the electronic quiz for 170 sports fans at Hotel Football in Manchester.
Nineteen teams competed, with tables taken by local businesses. The winners were Ultimate Warriors, representing Ultimate Products, whose CEO is Simon Shulman.
Proceeds will benefit the UJIA-supported Equalizer programme, which brings together disadvantaged Jewish and Arab children in Israel for football training and academic activities. Last year, it received an award from Uefa for its work.
Addressing guests, the programme’s founding director, Liran Gerassi, said that when the project started ten years ago, “seven primary schools in Jerusalem wanted to join what we didn’t even call a programme back then.
“I would never have dreamed that one day, the programme would be operated successfully in 220 schools across Israel, from the Golan Heights to Eilat, making an enormous impact on thousands of kids.
“Thank you UJIA for allowing us to take our vision to the next level.”
