Former Liverpool captain and manager Graeme Souness is embarking on his toughest challenge to date by swimming the English Channel and back to raise money for a cause close to his heart.
After walking from QPR’s Loftus Road to Wembley Stadium for the British Heart Foundation, the ex-Sky Sports pundit will look to conquer another fundraising feat before the end of April. The Reds legend – who won five league titles and three European Cups in his glittering spell at Anfield – was characterized by his full-blooded displays on the field during his storied playing days.
Now, he is turning his passions towards raising awareness and funds to help people suffering with the condition of epidermolysis bullosa (EB). The 71-year-old is a vice-president of DEBRA UK, a charity which was established to support those living with EB – an illness which leaves sufferers with painful blisters, open wounds, and excruciating itching.
Back in 2023, Kop hero Souness swam the Channel for the charity and raised £1.5m (£2m) for the cause. This time around, he will be swimming double the distance he did last time, as he looks to raise £750,000 ($1m) to fund two EB clinical trials – which could lead to treatments to alleviate the pain those suffering from the condition live with on a daily basis.
In his role as an ambassador for DEBRA, Souness is set to don his wetsuit and hit the water on April 30 at Dover. In a statement issued by the charity, the ex-Liverpool skipper expressed his commitment to helping individuals living with EB, such as his friend Isla Grist.
(Image: DEBRA)
He said: “I had to do something for my wee friend, Isla, and the thousands of other children and adults affected by this cruel condition.
“With the money raised DEBRA UK was able to start testing drugs which could be life-changing but there are many more drugs that they need to test if we are to secure effective treatments for every form of EB, treatments that could help stop the extreme pain.
“This is why we’re getting back in the water once again. It’s going to be tough; I’m 71 now and it’s double the distance, but I know we can do this, we must do this, we must be the difference for EB.”
(Image: David Cannon/Getty Images)
In an exclusive interview with Liverpool.com last week, Souness spoke passionately about his dedication to the charity, his efforts to raise awareness of the condition and his hope that he can improve the lives of those living with EB. He said: “DEBRA is a charity that helps people with a genetic condition called EB, you’re born with it and it’s a genetic condition.
“The best day of your life is the day you are born because it just gets worse as you get older. It’s life-limiting and these poor kids have no respite from the pain and itch that they have every waking moment of their lives.
(Image: Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
Speaking about swimming the English Channel – and back – for DEBRA this month, he spoke excitedly about what will be his second crossing of the strait which separates Dover from Calais in France. He said: “So, two years ago we swam the channel as a relay team – which means an hour in the water and five out, then another in.
“We did that and we’re attempting to do it again. We’re going to attempt to swim there and swim back. I’ve prepared for it and trained for it and I wish it was tomorrow!”
Opening up on his desire to help those affected by the condition through his courageous efforts, he added: “It’s such a horrible thing to witness. These poor kids, there’s not a lot we can do for them but the whole idea is on two fronts.
“Firstly to make people aware that this condition exists and secondly raise enough money to repurpose drugs that are already on the market but can be used by scientists and researchers to make them work for our kids that suffer from this.”
