Boy with life limiting disorder stunned by response to football scarf appeal

Alfie Lund, 16, who has MECP2 Duplication Syndrome, has received 2,962 scarves from as far away as Iceland and Togo since a plea went out nearly ten years ago.

Alfie was only the 7th child in the country to be diagnosed with the life-limiting condition, which is so rare it took four years for him to be correctly pinpointed.

Dad Mark, together with Alfie's brother Cam, had the idea of collecting scarves to raise awareness of the condition and initially put the call out to football clubs who responded in droves.

And since then, fans from around the world have also been sending scarves - which have taken over several rooms of their home in Burscough, West Lancashire.

"Word of mouth is huge for us, people are very generous," said former DJ Mark.

“People tend to send a scarf from their club, others put posts out asking their friends to donate and they send several together. Clubs also get in touch and send scarves.

“We were getting packages three times a day at one point.

“We probably have the best-insulated house in West Lancashire.”

Notable scarves include Alfie's favourite from German team Duisburg and a one-of-a-kind handmade edition featuring his face from Hungarian scarf maker Gabor Toth.

He also has a large collection from Bayer Leverkusen thanks to family friend Marius Eversman who is a season ticket holder at the Bundesliga club.

Guanpeng Wang is also another reliable source of scarves for Alfie as the Chinese national who now lives in Canada brings several whenever he visits the family.

Alfie has been a big fan of Wigan Athletic since he watched them play against Norwich in the Premier League when he was four.

But the noise proved too much for him due to his autism.

“We thought non-league football would be a better choice because it has less noise and it’s worked wonders with Alfie - he loves it," said Mark.

“I never turned down any invites from clubs, we went on tour for two years from Darlington to Deal.

“As Alfie’s condition has progressed, we have slowed down.

“He can’t walk or talk and he is in a wheelchair but it is evident to everyone that he loves football, he lights up when we go there.

“Considering he couldn’t handle noise 12 years ago but can now attend Kasabian in the park with 40,000 people shows how far we have come."