Former Lioness Jill Scott has set off on a five-day, 388-mile cycle and marathon challenge for Sport Relief. The former Manchester City midfielder kicked off the fundraising journey at London's Wembley Stadium, the site of her 2022 Euros victory with the Lionesses, and will make her way north to Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
Setting off on a rainy Monday morning, Scott aims to complete a 112-mile bike ride to Villa Park on the first day of the challenge. On day two, she will tackle a 99-mile ride to Everton Hill Dickinson Stadium, followed by a 38-mile run into Manchester on day three. Thursday will see a Tour de France-style 111-mile cycle to the North East, and the challenge will conclude on Friday June 12 with a 28-mile marathon finish to the Stadium of Light.
Over the course of the challenge, Scott will stop at various football stadiums and community hubs, joined by familiar faces including former football teammates. Scott previously told the Press Association that she was "honoured" to have been asked to take on the fundraising challenge and that she is "100% committed" to finishing it.
She said: "I was so lucky that I was offered safe spaces to play football and I was offered these incredible teachers and coaches who I could trust and who could help me, but there's so many young people that don't get those opportunities. A lot of young people say they feel lonely, they feel disconnected. That's definitely something that Sport Relief really do help with – giving kids a sense of belonging, a purpose. I would just urge people, if you are in a position to help, please make sure you do, because without those green spaces, without those youth clubs, I would never have gone on to fulfil my dreams of playing for England."
Jill Scott's Coming Home Challenge for Sport Relief can be tracked on Comic Relief's website. To make a donation, visit www.comicrelief.com/jillscott.
