Sunderland World Cup bid reaches new heights

Nov 25 2009 by Adam Jupp, The Journal

AS BACKERS of moves to bring the World Cup to Wearside, they certainly have summit to shout about.

Former Olympic athletes Steve Cram and Allison Curbishley are supporters of Sunderland’s drive to be part of England’s bid to stage either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.

And they showed their backing from 20,000ft after scaling Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

The pair unfurled a banner promoting Sunderland’s campaign after completing the challenge, which they did to raise funds for charity Comrades of Children Overseas (COCO).

But they found they had been beaten to it, with a flag already having been hoisted at the summit by teenager Alex Munro, nephew of Black Cats goalkeeping coach Nigel Spink.

Alex, 16, did the gruelling climb with partner Claire Harrison to raise funds for an orphanage in Tanzania, which the club provided with new football kits to accompany his donation.

Steve Cram, an official Sunderland 2018 bid champion, said: “Kilimanjaro was one of the most demanding challenges we have ever taken on and there were times when we wondered whether we’d get to the top.

“However, we were raising funds for some really important COCO projects and that drove us on.

“The other task we were determined to complete was getting a Sunderland 2018 Host City bid flag to the summit of the mountain. It was a considerable size, so it wasn’t easy, but we just about managed.

“Imagine our shock when we learned that someone had beaten us to it a few weeks before and already taken the Sunderland bid to the roof of Africa. We really couldn’t believe that.