Angels United: The football team offering support for bereaved fathers

Meet the inspirational players of Angels United FC offering support to others grieving the loss of a chid.

It is a football team nobody wants to play for. Those who do say it has saved them.

Angels United is a team made up entirely of bereaved fathers. It was formed in 2020 by 13 grieving dads.

Today it has as many as 50 members - each father with their own heartbreaking story.

Many had found it almost impossible to share those stories until they discovered Angels.

They speak of a 'safe space' to open up with other men who have been through similar experiences.

Angels United players wear the names of their loved ones on the back of their shirts. Credit: ITV Granada

Co-founder Olly Monk said: "The 13 of us managed to sit down around the table. We all came from different backgrounds, all different parts of the country.

"But the heartbreaking thing was we all had one thing in common, which was we suffered the heartbreak of losing a baby, a child.

"To be quite honest, I never wanted anyone else to reach out because that would mean they had also been through it.

"But it's also nice to give that safe space for these people to come down and be surrounded by people that just get it.

"They can talk openly and just have that safe, secure place. Chatting to a couple of the lads."

Olly and his wife have suffered two miscarriages and in 2019 they lost their baby twins Dottie and Poppy.

Olly turned to football as an escape.

"We did counselling, we did group sessions, we did coffee mornings, but it wasn't the right fit for me," he said.

"Football saved me. The day after my girls' funeral I went to the football and Gillingham won one-nil.

"And then I had messages from random strangers just reaching out and talking about my girls.

"So, yeah, football is such a powerful tool and saves people. There's people in this group that Angels United has saved."

I ask Olly where he thinks he would be without this football team.

"We launched our kit last week and my wife said 'thank you for giving me my Olly back.' I don't know if I'd be here, honestly."

To find out more about the work of Angels United FC click here.

How we can better deal with bereavement after a pandemic where so many died in such a short space of time? We take a look in an episode of our podcast, From the North.