Former Liverpool player and manager Graeme Souness faced many tough opponents on the pitch, but he is undertaking his biggest challenge yet this Sunday, 18 June: swimming across the English Channel for charity.
Souness, who turned 70 last month, is part of a six-strong team aiming to raise £1.1million to boost research in pain relief for people suffering from epidermolysis bullosa (EB), an incurable condition which causes the skin to become very fragile and tear or blister at the slightest touch.
"I came across this disease five years ago when I went to a dinner in London," Souness told the Guardian. "There was a young lady there who was a sufferer. Her name was Myra from Birmingham, and I got in touch with [the charity] DEBRA immediately.
"I knew nothing about this disease. This disease is the cruellest, nastiest disease out there that I know of."
Souness, pictured top right, was inspired to fundraise after meeting 14-year-old Isla Grist, who has undergone plastic surgery on her hands because of the degenerative disease, and a young girl he describes as "almost the most unique human being I’ve ever met".
Former Liverpool footballer Graeme Souness is swapping being a TV pundit to swim the English Channel.
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) May 22, 2023
The 70 year old told #BBCBreakfast he's doing it for the charity DEBRA which supports people living with Epidemolysis Bullosa pic.twitter.com/nXoL0aazZA
After nine months of training, including some expert tips from Double Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington, Souness and Isla's dad, Andy, will be the latest in a long line of intrepid people to have attempted the 21-mile crossing from Dover to Calais.
Yet while his limbs may ache in the choppy, cold channel waters, Souness will need no further motivation to push him on than Isla.
"She’s an inspiration to me, even at my age," said Souness, whose fundraising target of £1.1m is because he wore the number 11 as a player.
"For someone so young to be so brave…Isla is aware of the impact this has on her mum and dad, and she helps them. She is a very special young lady, she really is. She gets me in tears every time I’m in her company."
Such is the pain experienced by those with EB that when Isla was a baby, her dad Andy and mum Rachel used to carry her around on a cushion because they couldn’t hug or touch her.
"It properly punched me on the nose when I first witnessed a sufferer," added Souness. "You would have to be some special human being if you were to meet Isla, or any other poor children who are suffering, and not to be moved by it."
The Premier League is supporting Graeme in his charity bid and wish him well.
If you would also like to support him, you can donate on the DEBRA website where you can donate.
