Bradford To Wear “56″ To Honour Fire Victims
Nahki Wells and his Bradford City teammates will pay tribute to the fire victims at Sunday’s Capital One Cup final by wearing tracksuits displaying the number 56 — which is the number of people who lost their lives in the Bradford Fire Disaster of 1985. The fire broke out the stands during a football game, killing 56 people and injuring hundreds more.
The stands are shown above after the fire, which was the worst ever in English football. Photo via DailyMail
Bradford Coach Phil Parkinson said: “When I first came here, I quickly picked up the unique bond that exists in this city between the club and the supporters because of the fire. I’ve had a lot of letters from a lot of supporters leading up to this game, telling me this is an occasion to remember those 56.
“Because Bradford have been coming down the divisions, there’s a feeling outside the city those people might have been forgotten, so we want to do everything we can to set the record straight and make sure this is a day for remembering them.
“I’ve had letters from people whose relatives died in the fire, and I’ve spoken to people who were here that day. The common theme is that this is the day to remember those people.”
Radio commentary from that day below, the video [viewer is discretion is advised] can be viewed here:
Mr Parkinson continued, “The two co-chairmen are diehard Bradford fans. It means a lot to them that the club is represented in the right way at Wembley, and an important aspect of that is remembering the fire and those who lost their lives.”
Bradford’s Capital One Cup journey began back in August with a 1-0 win at Notts County. They went on to defeat Premier League side Wigan 4-2 on penalties, and then secured wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa, to become the first League 2 club to reach the Cup Finals for some 50 years.
Nahki Wells has been a key part of Bradford’s success, with the 22-year-old Bermudian leading all scorers for Bradford with 18 goals so far this season.
Locals can watch a live screening of the Bradford vs Swansea Cup Final at CedarBridge Academy on Sunday [Feb 24], while also supporting our star players of the future, with 100% of proceeds from the event to be donated to the youth football programme at Nahki Wells former club Dandy Town.
Read More About
Category: Accidents and fires, All, Sports
