Rival Fans Come Together To Complete 'Walk For Leon'

Rivalries were put aside last weekend as a group of Everton and Liverpool fans rallied together to undertake a 20-mile fundraising hike to Hill Dickinson Stadium in aid of Blues fan Leon Skapars. 

Leon, 35, a father of three, has been told he may have only a few years left to live following a late cancer diagnosis.

Leon’s family and friends have vowed to try to raise £100,000 for clinical trials and to help support Leon's limited treatment options through specialist cancer consultants in America and Germany. 

And to boost the funds, friends hit upon the idea of supporting Leon, wife Crystal and their three young sons by walking 20 miles – one mile for every year they've known the devoted dad – from Southport Football Club to Hill Dickinson Stadium, via Anfield. 

Close friend Paul Mills said: “We've been friends for over 20 years and Leon has always been there for us. We've hit a time in our lives, with young kids and stuff, where we don't really see each other like we used to, but when we do it's like we've never been apart.  

“What’s happening to Leon, Crystal and the boys is just heartbreaking and we all put our heads together to see how we could help. 

“After knocking about a few things, we hit upon the idea of walking from Southport, where the family live, through to Anfield and ending at Leon’s beloved Everton. 

“Most of us are Liverpool fans, but Leon is a massive Evertonian so we wanted to try and end there because we wanted it to be about him.  

“Both clubs have been absolutely fantastic with the support they've offered us, and when we contacted Everton, they offered to meet us and give us a little stadium tour so we could end the walk inside the stadium. They’ve been amazing.” 

Several of the walkers travelled from as far afield as south Wales to join the challenge, while Speedo Mick donned his famous blue swimwear to help amplify their fundraising message after he saw the cause online.

After boosting the six-figure target by around £12,000, the friendship group are hoping their endeavours will continue to strike a chord with football fans as they battle to give the young family more time together and hope for the future. 

Paul added: “How Crystal is holding herself together at the moment, I don’t know. She never stops on social media because they need £100,000 to fund the treatment.  

“As a group, we've raised around £12,000 so far through the walk and we have a friend in Australia who's raised £10,000 over there.  

“The family themselves have raised about £35,000 online, so we’re getting there. But we’ve a long way to go and a lot of momentum needs to be carried on with it.  

“Hopefully the ‘Walk For Leon’ pushes it a bit further because there’s nobody quite like Scousers for getting behind a worthy cause. And Leon is more than worthy.” 

The Go Fund Me link set up for Leon’s family can be found here: Fundraiser for Crystal Duffey by Paul Mills : Walk for Leon