Newcastle United winger Peter Lovenkrands has raised over £21,000 at a charity auction held in memory of his dad.
The online raffle included a host of signed Newcastle United prizes and all the money raised went to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Peter’s father, Bent, lost his 5 year battle with the degenerative disease in January 2010 at the age of 61.
32 year old Danish international Peter said: “I want to thank everybody so much who donated to this cause of mine. We have raised over £21,000 and that’s absolutely amazing. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Fans donated at least £5 for a chance to win with the raffle which was run through the footballer’s Twitter and JustGiving pages.
The top prize with the raffle was tickets to Newcastle’s sold-out match against Manchester City which included a dressing-room tour with Peter. Other prizes included signed shirts, boots and gloves from the Newcastle squad.
Over a thousand people donated to the cause, raising an amazing £21,265.61.
Peter has two daughters aged five and three. The loss of his father has had a very profound effect on him: “Suddenly he was not the same dad I used to have,” he said.
“People think it’s just a disease the elderly get, but my dad was only 55 when he was diagnosed. He was a fantastic dad.
“I was over here when he passed. I was trying to get home when my mum rang and told me. That was very tough.”