EUROMILLIONS winnings are to boost community football in Zambia thanks to a charity donation from lotto winner Colin Weir.
Weir and former wife Christine netted £161 million when they hit the jackpot in 2011.
The pair used some of the windfall to benefit good causes through their Weir Charitable Trust before announcing they were to separate earlier this year.
Now Weir has made a “significant donation” to Stirling-based charity Africa on the Ball through his new giving arm, The Colin Weir Foundation.
Africa on the Ball uses football to promote health, community development, equality and education in Zambia and the £15,000 award is its biggest ever. Co-founder Andrew Jenkin said: “We are so grateful to Colin and his team at the Foundation for this incredibly generous donation. As a small charity which relies entirely on volunteers, it will have a huge impact on our work. We’ve been fundraising to send a shipping container full of kit and equipment and other things the community have asked for and the donation will allow us to do that and more.”
Once delivered in the new year, the container will be converted into a library and community resource. The Colin Weir Foundation said: “Mr Weir was impressed by the work done on a small budget and felt that Africa on the Ball merited the Foundation’s support to expand its work. He believes in the principle that football is a power for good and this project embodies that philosophy.”
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