Laureus fundraiser completes landmark charity cycle across Brazil
Big congratulations to Andy Smith, who has today completed a truly remarkable fundraising adventure in Brazil.
Andy’s idea was simple. He wanted to raise funds for some great causes by cycling to each World Cup football stadium.
And today, the first day of the FIFA World Cup, he achieved that goal.
Andy arrived in Manaus, the 12th and last of the World Cup 2014 stadiums. That means Andy has travelled a total of 5,000 miles in 5 months. Only the last leg of his journey required him to travel by boat due to difficult access to Manaus by road.
Andy, who comes from Watford in England, set off on his World Cup fundraising journey on January 21. A passionate sport loved, Andy has been raising money for his local football team’s Community Sports & Education Trust (WFC CSE), and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
He has faced the cycle entirely alone, aside from those cheering along the way, welcoming him at the stadiums and his brother who joined for the final stage to Manaus.
The cycle has been an enormous commitment for Andy. Now at the end of the cycle, he said:
“A year ago my life felt pretty meaningless, so I decided to take control and do something I could be passionate about… with the added motivation of raising money and awareness for two great charities, and the reward of the World Cup at the end … My journey has been all about the concept that sport can make people’s lives better, and it's certainly improved mine in the last 5 months, but the benefit will last much longer, both for me and the many people that Laureus and the WFC CSE Trust help every day.”
