NCFC Community Hero: September 2022

Our September Community Hero chosen for the fixture against West Brom, in partnership with Norwich City Football Club, is Canary fan and charity fundraiser Phil May.

Following the loss of his wife to breast cancer in 2003, Phil has devoted much of his spare time to raising money for Cancer Research.

One of the ways in which Phil has fundraised for the charity is by hosting a regular Last Man Standing competition.

This challenge puts around 400 football fans against each other to pick a team to win each week and if your selected team wins, you progress to the next round. A portion of each entry fee is donated to Phil’s chosen charity.

Last year alone, Phil raised £2,750 for Cancer Research through his Last Man Standing challenges and in total, over the past five years, has raised over £10,000.

Phil’s friend Peter Smith nominated him as a Community Hero and was delighted to see that his work has been recognised within the local community. He said: “Phil is well known amongst our home and away support. He has dedicated an awful lot of his time to raising money for a great cause.”

Our Community Hero has been a life-long Norwich City supporter, having owned a season ticket for over 20 years, and has just moved back to Norwich, having lived in Sheffield for over 20 years.

“I actually met my late wife going to watch Norwich play at Sheffield Wednesday, so both places have played a part in all of this,” comments Phil.

“After she passed, my son, my daughter and I would come to every home game all the way from Sheffield and make a weekend of it.”

Phil also played a part in the founding of the supporter group ‘Northern Canaries’.

Shortly after hearing the news of Phil’s bereavement 19 years ago, Norwich City joint majority shareholder Delia Smith invited Phil and his son to a game as her guests.

Phil and his family will be attending the West Brom match – we hope they enjoy the game!

Since 2019, we have joined our partners Norwich City Football Club in highlighting the great work of local individuals and organisations in our community. Every month during the football season, a ‘Community Hero’ is chosen for a selected matchday – providing an opportunity to showcase that person(s) or initiatives selfless work or important community campaign. Previous Community Heroes have included young carers, veterans, equality campaigners, charity fundraisers and their beneficiaries.

If you would like to nominate someone, please visit the Norwich City web page here.