Football match at Bognor FC to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society

The match, organised by Bognor resident Mark Penfold, will kick off at 4pm on Sunday (August 30), with doors opening at 3pm. Tickets cost £5 and parking is available at the ground.

Mark is organising the event after his dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 67 in 2024.

Football has been an important part of Mark’s relationship with his dad since childhood, making it a fitting way to raise money for a cause that has become deeply personal to his family.

“One of the main things I did with my dad was practising in the garden or going to the Brighton game,” Mark said. “It just seemed like a fitting thing to do to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.”

Mark’s dad is a “die-hard Brighton fan”, having attended home and away matches during the 1970s and 80s.

“As far back as I can remember, I was playing football either in the park or the garden with my dad. I did lots of practice with him, so a lot of my core memories as a child revolve around football,” Mark said.

Mark has two older brothers, but as they grew into their teenage years and developed other priorities, he found himself spending more one-on-one time kicking the ball about with his dad.

His father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s aged 67, and is now approaching his 70th birthday. The family initially hoped the condition had been caught early enough for medication to slow its progression.

“We thought they’d caught it quite early, and if he went on some meds it would be quite a drawn-out process, but it wasn’t,” Mark said.

“It sort of seemed to take hold and be fairly aggressive, and he deteriorated quite quickly.”

By Christmas 2025, the illness had progressed significantly, with Mark’s dad wandering out of the family home on several occasions.

“By a year later, Christmas of 2025, it was pretty bad to the point where he managed to get out of the house a couple of times. I had to call the police,” Mark said.

His dad went into full-time care in May this year after the family found they were unable to continue looking after him without additional support.

Mark has since embarked on a fundraising mission for the Alzheimer’s Society, having also run the Brighton Marathon in April on behalf of the charity.

“I just thought I’d go on a bit of a fundraising mission,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it’s not going to help my dad, but it might help other families that are impacted by it. The money raised by myself and other people might help find a cure or develop a better set of meds to slow things down.

“So I’m just trying to be selfless. Instead of wallowing and thinking ‘this is unfair’, I’m trying to do something to make a difference.”

Mark approached Bognor Town FC about holding the match earlier this summer and says the club has been “very accommodating”, providing the bar and hot food free of charge.

The Seasons Clubhouse will provide food and drink during the event, with Mark hoping people will stay on after the match and make use of the facilities.

“I chose the Bank Holiday weekend because I thought that unless you work in hospitality or retail, the majority of people are off work on Monday,” Mark said.

“So I thought it would be a good excuse for people to come down, support the game and then stick around at the bar afterwards.”

Organising the match has involved finding enough players, arranging kits and sourcing sponsors. There are now 40 players taking part, including Mark himself.

The family is hoping around 100 people will attend. At £5 per ticket, that would mean £500 raised from admission alone, before taking other fundraising into account.

There will also be a raffle, with Mark promising “good prizes to be won”.

He says there are still plenty of tickets available and is encouraging people to come along and support the cause.

The match is also expected to provide some competitive football, with all the players taking part playing to a decent standard.

“It should be a fairly competitive, good standard of game,” Mark said. “All the people playing do so to a decent standard, so it should be a good watch.”

Tickets can be purchased online via websites including Ticket Tailor and V2 Radio, or on the door.