THE charity arm of a football club has launched a new children's book which follows the story of a family's passion for sport.

The Bridge That George Built has been launched by MFC Foundation and is now available to buy in Middlesbrough Football Club's shop.

Written by author Rachael Wong, and illustrated by Ann-Marie Anderson, the book follows the story of a young boy called George and his grumpy Grandad, who share a love of Middlesbrough FC and a passion for football.

 

Not only does the book encourage intergenerational links with nods to Boro greats such as Wilf Mannion and Brian Clough, it also looks to instil a sense of pride in children about the history of Teesside.

The book is also being used as an educational tool to encourage parents, particularly fathers, to spend more time reading to children, with the book highly anticipated to be as much fun for parents as it will be for the children.

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson and defender George Friend have both contributed to the finished product.

Family and friends of the author and illustrator were at the Riverside Stadium on Monday night for the official launch of the book.

 

It will cost £4.99. All of the proceeds from the book will go directly to MFC Foundation, the club’s official independent charitable arm, to help support their life-changing programmes for both children and adults right across Teesside.

Ms Wong said: “Growing up on Teesside in the 1970s, my brother and I used to go and watch the Boro with our dad and grandad, just like the children in this book.

“We quickly understood that supporting the Boro was about a lot more than football. In writing this book, I wanted to reflect the sense of family and community which comes through football, and to write something that all generations of Boro supporters would enjoy reading together.

“I also wanted to support the amazing work MFC Foundation does in my home town and the bridges it continues to build for the people of Teesside.”

In his quote in the book, George Friend said: “’The Bridge That George Built’ is a fantastic story that captures the passion and spirit not just of Boro fans but Teessiders in general.

“The book is a reminder of the great work MFC Foundation does and buying a copy is a perfect way to support it.”

 

Earlier this month, MFC Foundation received a visit from The Princess Royal as she saw some of the charity's life-changing programmes in action.

Speaking about the visit, Helena Bowman, head of MFC Foundation, said: "It was absolutely fantastic for the young people. She was really interested, she had a lot of interesting questions and talked a lot to the young people.

“She was genuinely interested in what we can do and the power football can have on the community.

"It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the kids, they got to play on the pitch and to top it all off they got to meet a princess.

“It is fantastic to get the recognition and it is really motivational for us all."

Over the past two decades, MFC Foundation has reinvested more than £25m and engaged with more than 500,000 people in Teesside.

For more information, visit www.mfcfoundation.co.uk.