Funeral Service Times August 2017 November 2018 | Page 29

OFFSIDE TRUST 29
Describing Offside Trust as “powerful”
and “unique”, the “organisation for survivors
by survivors” has also helped Unsworth to
continue to heal with his own experience
as he continues to talk about what he went
through. Entering the football profession as a
child, Unsworth played for Manchester City
juniors from the age of eight then moved
to Crewe Alexandra FC from the ages of 12
to 15. It was during this time that Unsworth
suffered abuse at the hands of Bennell.
“No member of my family knew anything
about this so it came as a shock to them,
but getting that off my chest and off my
shoulders... even now, the more I talk about
it, the better I feel.”
In an attempt to move on from the abuse
and Bennell, Unsworth decided to switch
speciality and was a professional golfer
from the ages of 16 to 20. Saying: “I fell
out of that. I just couldn't concentrate with
what had happened,” he eventually quit
and proceeded to join the funeral trade.
www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk
He has now been a funeral director for 25
years, working with his brother, sister and
nephew at Jeremy Unsworth Funeral Service
in High Peak, Peak District. Comparing his
two vocations, he says: “A bit like the funeral
work, it's very harbouring but also very
rewarding.”
He hopes that continuing to share his
story and work through the organisation can
reach a wider breadth of people and help
him to be a listening ear to those suffering
in silence. Part of that includes Walters
working with the production and writing
team of TV soap Hollyoaks on a storyline
which closely mirrors what happened to
him, Unsworth, Fallon and many other
young, aspiring footballers. Further to
this, the cast of Hollyoaks have requested
to hold a Hollyoaks versus Offside Trust
football match to help raise money for the
organisation. This is expected to take place
in spring 2019. Other events that have been
held to raise money and awareness for the
cause include a zip wire challenge in north
Wales where over £800 was raised and a
organisation golf day with BBC journalist Dan
Walker. A football event at Chester Football
Club is also in the pipeline for next year.
The Offside Trust is working closely
with grassroots football clubs and national
organisations, including taking part in
meetings and discussions with Premier
League and Championship clubs. Unsworth
says: “The two projects that we have got
are ongoing that we’re working on with the
Football Association (FA) and Professional
Footballers' Association (PFA), we have to
break down walls and open different doors
to get there.” He continues: “We know this
problem is ongoing and it's not just in this
country either - it is worldwide. So we'll
see where we go with this and time will
tell; every gate up is a challenge.” While he
acknowledges the importance of making
changes at the top level, Unsworth points
out that it’s usually the smaller community
clubs where abuse tends to happen and is
more likely to go unreported. “It’s normally
run by volunteers and mums and dads so if
there is a paedophile out there in the area,
that's where they start because they know
how things work and these monsters are
very clued up,” He says. “They know if they
go to a Premier League or Championship
club where’s there’s a lot of people about,
they'll get a lot of questions. But if they work
at a lower ranking or grassroots club, that's
where help is needed so that’s what we're
targeting.”
While the Offside Trust is still in its
relatively early days, Unsworth and Walters
have the ambitious ideal of seeing sexual
abuse completely eradicated from the
sporting industry, saying: “We know that's
a tough challenge.” However, what he
knows the organisation is definitely able
to do is have its volunteers continue to
raise awareness and share their stories and
hopefully help others through those means.
“I just wanted to tell my story to the funeral
trade,” he says. “I wanted to reach out
because you don’t know who’s listening or
reading these articles. If I could reach out to
one person who may have suffered any form
of child abuse I would gladly help them. If it's
just the one person that'll do for me.”
NOVEMBER 2018