Former England legend returns to pitch in memory of Kent woman

Former England and Arsenal legend Tony Adams delighted football fans as he returned to the pitch for the first time in more than two decades.

Transcript

00:00So, first of all, how does it feel to get back on the pitch after 23 years?

00:07Exhausting. Absolutely exhausting.

00:14Well, it may have been 23 years since ex-England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams has laced up his boots,

00:19but he still brought his A-game to Margate FC's Hartsdown Park to support those struggling with addiction.

00:25Adams himself struggled with alcoholism off the pitch.

00:28And now he's lined up with volunteers from the addiction support charities Roar and the Forward Trust

00:33to raise money and awareness for the charities in the first ever match of the Emma Urquhart Cup,

00:38named after a volunteer for the charities who passed away a short while ago.

00:42I've got some fantastic services in employment, in education, housing and recovery.

00:48And it's all about recovery. Emma used to work for the Forward Trust who sadly passed away.

00:53So, I'm more than happy to put my boots on to honour Emma's memory,

00:59the great work the Forward Trust do here and Roar.

01:03We played against Roar today. Reach out and recover.

01:06They do a lot of good work also in the area. I'm very proud to be chairman.

01:10I'm very proud to put the boots back on.

01:12Since the days of Tony's playing career with Arsenal in England, football has undergone a transformation.

01:17And now, clubs like Margate can be a vessel for social change in their communities.

01:21Yeah, football can do that in lots of ways. Obviously, it brings people together.

01:25As part of our drop-in, we have football sessions running anyway on a Friday, so people get together.

01:31They develop social networks. They develop friendships.

01:34They realise that they've still got the skills they had a long time ago.

01:38And yeah, it can obviously help in mental health and physical health all at the same time.

01:42In the end, the Forward Trust lost on penalties.

01:45But even though Tony said he would only play 10 minutes a side, he ended up playing around 70 minutes.

01:50Which goes to show just how much the cause means to him.

01:53Other people, my fellowship, the people around me have helped me get clean and sober.

01:58So this is why I do days like this. We need the connections. We can't beat this on our own.

02:03So reach out for help.

02:05The man who spent most of his career helping Arsenal to four Premier League titles

02:09is now spending his time working with volunteers and helping those who need it most.

02:14Finn McDermid for KMTV.