Father sets up football team to help bereaved dads

Ben Wright wants to help other dads

A bereaved father has set up a football team in Derby for other men who have lost a child.

Ben Wright's son Lachlande died 12 days after he was born in 2023 as a result of an infection called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC).

Mr Wright, who was 21 at the time, was encouraged to join a football team in Nottingham for men who had lost a child.

He said being part of the team had helped him deal with his own grief and he now "wants to offer help to dads based in Derby".

Mr Wright says the football group helped him talk about his son

Mr Wright and his partner Shannon were never able to take their son home from the hospital because he became ill shortly after he was born.

He said: "We were both struggling but I was trying to keep strong for Shannon, but I kept having bad days."

He said he kept getting "recommendation after recommendation" to contact Sands United FC and the closest football team was in Nottingham.

Sands was set up as an off-shoot of the national charity and has since offered support to people who have experienced miscarriage or baby death.

It has now grown to more than 30 teams across the UK, which support bereaved families, including the new team in Derby.

'Get dads talking'

"It just made me feel like I wasn't the only one out there, there was other people who had been through similar experiences that I could speak to and interact with," Mr Wright said.

"If I'm honest there is not enough out there. There isn't enough out there for mums in general, but with dads you really have to dive deep into online searches trying to find something that's suited to you as a person."

Mr Wright said he already had 12 players express an interest and was now looking for somewhere permanent for Sands United FC Derby to meet up and train.

"I want to get dads talking about their babies, acknowledge that they have gone through this and they've come out of the other side, that's what I feel I have done," he added.

"I want a group of dads or other males that have been affected by it to come together have a chat, play a bit of football and just be a massive support group."