6-year-old girl supporting her ‘favourite team’ Rochdale Hornets with 10-mile walk to club’s ground

6-year-old Abigail Yarwood will walk from Limehurst Lions base in Oldham to Rochdale’s Crown Oil Arena on Sunday 27 June to raise funds for three causes important to her.

Abigail, who lives in Failsworth but is a ‘huge Rochdale Hornets fan’, decided to walk the ten miles to raise money for homeless charity Barnabus, Limehurst Lions ARFLC, and All Hornets.

After quickly smashing her original goal of £200, Abigail has now raised her fundraising target to £700.

So far, £640 - 91% of the target - has been raised for the cause.

“I love rugby, but I haven't been able to go to a match for ages because of Covid,” she writes on her dedicated JustGiving page.

“On 27th June I will finally get to go back to Spotland to watch my favourite team Rochdale Hornets play, so I wanted to make it special.

“I decided to walk from Limehurst Lions who I play for, to Rochdale Hornets who I support.”

Once she has cheered Hornets on at their fixture against North Wales Crusaders on the 27th, Abigail will donate half of the money raised to Barnabus, whilst the other half will be split equally between Limehurst Lions and All Hornets.

All Hornets is an all-new Rochdale Hornets supporters club that supports the club through squad builder, events, and fundraising.

Limehurst Lions is Abigail’s local team and have children’s rugby teams for ages 3+. Abigail plays for the under 7s.

“They have the best coaches and always help us to do our best,” she said. “I love going to training so I wanted to do something to say thank you to all the coaches and help my club.

“All Hornets help the Rochdale Hornets team by the squad builder, and they also do lots of fun things for the junior members. Also, they support the club charity which is CLIC Sargent.”

Speaking on why she is fundraising for Barnabus, Abigail added: “It makes me sad when I see homeless people near where I live and especially if I go into town, so I wanted to do something to help them.

“I hope you will support my walk.”

Steve Kerr, Rochdale Hornets Chief Executive Officer, said: “Abigail’s passion and enthusiasm for Rugby League hasn’t gone unnoticed and it’s great to see our young fans being positive by raising money for causes she believes in. We are delighted to support Abigail and can’t wait to see her at the Crown Oil Arena in June.

"Good luck with the walk and we hope you smash your target.”

Mum, Janet Yarwood, added: “She secretly wants to get to £1,000!”

You can support Abigail’s walk on Sunday 27 June by donating via the link below:

• www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/AbigailY