Football coach crowned Pride of Britain regional winner after epic hospice challenge

A football coach who dribbled his way through deserts, mountains and thunderstorms on an epic 2,000 mile journey has been crowned winner of the Pride of Britain Awards’ ITV Central Fundraiser of the Year, and is now in the running for the national ITV Fundraiser of the Year title.

James Lewis, from Rugeley, was announced as the region’s champion on ITV Central, and will now walk the red carpet at the national Pride of Britain Awards at Grosvenor House in London on 8 October, hosted by Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo.

James earned his crown by dribbling a football 2,000 miles from Morocco to Staffordshire, an astonishing 86 day adventure undertaken in memory of his father, who was cared for at St Giles Hospice in the last weeks of his life. James was just 11 years old at the time.

Nothing about the journey was easy. James was chased by stray dogs through Morocco, battled temperatures topping 40 degrees for days on end, and dribbled his ball along the edge of a mountain landslide, refusing to let it slip over the drop. In France, he woke at 4am in the middle of a thunderstorm, soaked to the skin, and simply packed up and kept dribbling through the night. Through the heat, the exhaustion and the blisters, he said, it was the loneliness of three months largely spent alone that pushed him hardest.

This wasn’t James’s first fundraising feat, either. He has previously run home from Paris, completed a 24-hour blindfolded run, and conquered the Three Peaks Challenge, taking his lifetime total for St Giles to £129,000, and making him the hospice’s biggest ever individual fundraiser.

James said the win still hadn’t quite sunk in.

“I didn’t do it for a trophy, and there are so many worthy winners in this region alone, seeing their stories this week has been incredible,” James said.

“I did it for kids and young people who are facing loss, so they know they’re not alone in it. St Giles gave my dad incredible care in his final weeks, and that’s something I’ll never forget. I want to thank everyone who’s supported me throughout this amazing summer, the supporters, everyone who donated, the people who stopped along the way to give me food or water, and of course the people of Rugeley, who have been incredible.”

Elinor Eustace, Chief Executive of St Giles Hospice, said the whole team was thrilled to see James recognised.

“James has given so much to this hospice over the years through his fundraising, and his complete dedication to making sure other families get the same support his family had,” she said. “This award belongs to him, and we could not be prouder to see him carry the West Midlands flag to London.”

James now goes forward for the national ITV Fundraiser of the Year title, decided at the Pride of Britain Awards.

To support James’s fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/page/jameslewis26