The Moors 4’s is about connecting with the community, providing a home for those without and helping people like…Sands United.

When Solihull Sands United lace up their boots, the reason is far greater than football, the men taking to the field do so in memory of their lost loved ones.

Sands United FC have teams all over the country, made up of bereaved men who come together to play in honour of their babies’ all too brief lives.

Taking part in the Moors 4’s will ensure the club can continue to support Solihull Sands United both on and off the pitch.

Vikas Jain of Solihull Sands United, drives home the importance of playing for those who have suffered such a heart-breaking loss.

He explains that it is an extremely poignant moment every time a player puts on a shirt, adorned with their child’s name.

“It’s so healing to know that my son Aum’s name is here and Dave has got Lucas’s name and the other dads’ have got theirs,” said Vikas.

“Those we have lost are either represented by a name or a star, and we come out here, come rain or shine, and you have this name and it’s right here.

“It really is incredible to have that and that’s what we are playing for. The football is there and we play to win but we are so much more than that, because of these names on our shirts.”

David admits losing his son was devastating but Sands United has given him hope and in creating the team, it has ensured Lucas’ memory lives on.

“So the stars that I have under my badge are for the three miscarriages that me and my partner had,” said David.

“The name Lucas is for my son who we lost in 2018, he was diagnosed with spina bifida, we lost him at 21 weeks and it crushed me.

“But when we say we talk about positives, if it wasn’t for him, then I wouldn’t have started this team.

“If that’s his mark that is left on this world, that this team is here, then at least we can say that about him.”

Taking a negative and turning it into a positive is what Sands United is all about. Having only started the team last summer, David is delighted by the reaction he has received.

“The goal was if we could have helped just one (person), then it would have been job done, you know that something was achieved,” said David.

“But I think we have 15, 16 bereaved dads, brothers in the team. Someone that is representing someone that suffered a loss.

“They were such tragic circumstances that guys in the team went through, but without those experiences, we wouldn’t be stood here now.

“I would never have met people like Vikas. I look at it as a positive that this team is here to help bereaved dads.

“We are all there for each other. If anyone is feeling down, we have thirty other guys where we can just pick up the phone or drop someone a text.

“All they have to say is you know lads, I’m having a bit of a bad day today and they will be there for you, they’ll always be there for you.”

With a cheeky smile, David reveals that Sands United became associated with the Moors thanks to him chancing his arm with an out of the blue phone call.

“It was me being very cheeky, we started the club up in August last year, started up a Twitter page, Facebook.

“I phoned up the Moors and it was literally just to get a retweet to just say we are here! Come along!

“The receptionist said she would pass my details on but I thought nothing of it. Then Becci (Fox) phoned me from Community Moors.

“She invited me down to the club, and we have kind of ran with it from there. We’ve featured in the programme for the Moors, we train on their 3G pitch every week.

“We get massive support from them, they sponsor our kit, provide us with coaches, I can’t thank them enough.

“I appreciate everything that Solihull Moors have done for us."

To support projects just like Sands United, sign up to the Moors 4's JustGiving page and start fundraising today. Moors are on a mission and you can help us achieve our goal!