Football team for bereaved dads keen to expand

"Without this group I'm not sure where I would be mentally," said Aaron Way, a father who joined a football team for dads bereaved by baby loss.

Forget-Me-Knot FC started last September and has grown into a group of 34 who meet once a fortnight at Port Vale to chat and play.

The group is now trying to raise £6.5k to be able to reach more people, and to provide new kits, equipment, and expert counselling to those who come along.

In addition, it wants to provide grieving men with financial aid when needed. "It would be nice to to be able to say [to a father], 'you have a month off work, and we'll be able to support you'," said Way.

He and his partner Jemma Hall are grieving their daughter Willow's stillbirth in August.

"The grief itself will never leave us. That's something that we're going to have to deal with on a daily basis," he said.

But to talk other men who had experienced similar loss was "a huge release", he added.

"It's been the best thing for me and my family."

Way and his partner shared a photo of Willow, and want to encourage others to seek support.

Way, from Madeley, said his nerve failed him in the car park when he turned up for his first session, but he was grateful fellow member Sean Coleman encouraged him to go in.

"There's not an awful lot of groups there for men, in particular around grief and baby loss, so we're trying to bridge that gap and offer this support," he added.

It's not just dads—it's open to uncles, grandads, sons, as long as they're going through this journey."

The team, which meets fortnightly on a Monday, was launched with the help of Port Vale FC Foundation and University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS.

Coleman, from Biddulph, helped start the group after he and his partner Kylie suffered baby loss.

He said it had taken him "a while" to realise he needed help to deal with his bereavement.

Without the group, "we'd all be going through this grief journey on our own" he said, describing it as a "safety net".

"To see the change in the dads, where they know they've got this safe space where they can talk about their babies, talk about how they're feeling, it's just a weight off their shoulders," he said.

The group hopes their fundraising will also allow them to take the peer-to-peer guidance to the next level.

"Sometimes our dad might need that little bit of extra support that's needed that we can't provide properly," Coleman said.

"You don't have to hit rock bottom, but if you do hit rock bottom we'll all be there to pick you all back up again."

Details of organisations offering support with child bereavement are available at BBC Action Line.

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