Man on football charity tour in best man's memory
Stephen Roome (right) and Andrew Janson-Boot had been best friends since they were at school
- Published
A man is touring 92 football grounds in his best friend's memory.
Stephen Roome, 44, from Bramcote in Nottinghamshire, is raising money for two mental health charities, one in the UK and one in Australia, where his friend Andrew Janson-Boot lived.
Mr Janson-Boot, who was a Nottingham Forest fan, died in March, aged 44, just a few weeks after Mr Roome had learned he was struggling with his mental health.
The pair grew up together, becoming best friends at school, and years later, Mr Janson-Boot was the best man at Mr Roome's wedding.
Mr Roome said he started his tour at the Notts County ground
"He was my best friend throughout school - we messed about a lot and always had a lark.
"He enjoyed having a laugh, and he enjoyed life," Mr Roome said.
Mr Janson-Boot eventually moved to Australia with his family in 2006, but the pair stayed in touch via social media and through a group chat they shared with others.
It was about a month before Mr Janson-Boot died that Mr Roome said he had become aware of his friend's mental health issues, he said.
"He sent us this message, and he said he had been having some mental health issues, but in the same message, he said he felt 100 times better.
"That came as a complete shock to us. Then about three weeks later I got a call from his sister in tears, saying he'd taken his life.
"I didn't know what to say, what to do, how to feel," Mr Roome said.
"I don't think it's something I'm ever going to quite come to terms with. You have to live with it the best way you can," he added.
'I wanted to help'
Unable to attend his friend's funeral, Mr Roome said he watched online, but said "it was hard not being able to say goodbye properly".
The 44-year-old said he wanted to do something to help the Australia-based mental health charity, called Beyond Blue, and for Andy's Man Club - a UK charity that organises support groups for men.
Having seen others take part in similar charitable tours, he decided to take on a tour of football grounds across the country - a nod to his and Mr Janson-Boot's football fandom.
"We both loved football - he was a Nottingham Forest fan. We used to play together, but he was much better than me.
"He was always a good sportsman," Mr Roome said.
Starting at the Notts County ground on Saturday, 3 August, Mr Roome has visited half of the 92 grounds and raised more than £1,400 in total.
As part of the tour, in a borrowed campervan, Mr Roome visited Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium, Manchester City's Etihad Stadium and Everton's Goodison Park.
"I just wanted to do something to help in the small way I could," he said.
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