Hull City supports fan whose dad is terminally ill

A lifelong Hull City fan, whose father has been told he has three months to live, has received a letter of support from the club.

Sophie Griffiths, 30, from Hull, who has been going to matches with her dad for more than 20 years, was given a letter from the team's manager Sergej Jakirović after sharing her story online.

Her father, Owen Griffiths, has advanced Alzheimer's and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer. In September, he was told he has three months left to live.

"It's something so little but it has meant so much to me and to my family to feel a bit valued and supported during what is a difficult time," Ms Griffiths said.

Ms Griffiths has been going to Hull City matches with her father, who was a steward at the games, and grandfather since she was seven years old.

"We'd pick him [her grandad] up and take him in his wheelchair and park up. Me and my dad would sit together just in front of him in the south stand," she said,

"When my grandad couldn't go anymore, it was just me and my dad."

Ms Griffiths, whose father has been at Priory Grange care home on Hessle Road since February, now takes a pocket-sized photo of her and her dad to the games.

"I'm trying to just find ways to find comfort in what we've got left because it's quite difficult with him not really knowing what's going on around him," she said.

"It's how I can find comfort and it's through football - through Hull City."

Ms Griffiths said she holds the photo up at the games, takes a picture of it and shows it to her father to show "he's still there in some way".

"He loves it. He'll say, 'oh it's me'... he's recognising that it's him and me at the football," she said.

Ms Griffiths said she posted the picture of the photo online to share the impact that football has on family and friends.

During Saturday's game against Charlton, Ms Griffiths was approached by a member of the club's staff who handed her a letter from Jakirović.

In the letter, Jakirović wrote: "Hold on to those memories of you and your dad watching the Tigers together. Every time you watch us play, your dad will be with you."

Ms Griffiths said it was "something so unexpected but so heartfelt at the same time".

"That's mine and my dad's thing - Hull City - and to not be doing that withhim but feel supported by the club during this time, it's just meant so much."

Mr Griffiths has left a copy of the letter in her father's room.

"He knows it's about him and it's for him really. He's pretty chuffed."

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