Llantwit Major Football Club have unveiled a new shirt for its 2024/25 Fenix Trophy campaign which will raise money for two local charities in memory of local child Evelyn.

Llantwit Major Football Club have unveiled a new shirt for its 2024/25 Fenix Trophy campaign which will raise money for two local charities in memory of local child Evelyn.

Participation in the Fenix Trophy requires clubs to raise money for a charity of their choosing with Llantwit Major FC saying Adventure of Mr Octopus in memory of Evelyn Elizabeth Sarah Thomas, was an obvious choice.

"We picked Adventures with Mr Octopus which is it's a charity close to our hearts because Jimbo who used to coach for us, played for us, he's a massive part of the club and he lost his daughter earlier this year and they started up a charity, Adventures with Mr Octopus, which is split between Ty Hafan and Ronald McDonald House. It's a community charity, it's a local charity and it's a great cause that's really close to our hearts," said Wayne Marsh, Llantwit Majors Sponsorship and Fundraising Officer.

Evelyn Thomas was born at 32 weeks and 6 days on 19th January, due to a placenta eruption and sadly passed away on 11th March 2024 after fighting for 53 days.

After keeping her parents Jim and Cherrie on their toes during pregnancy, doctors spotted that Evelyn had fluid on the lungs and was diagnosed with gene mutation LZTR1, a gene linked to the lymphatic system. Evelyn was also diagnosed with Noonans Syndrome which only affects 1 in 2,500 people in the UK.

The lymphatic system carries the fluids and proteins into the bloodstream, with Evelyn's not working like it was supposed to, with a leak somewhere in her body causing her proteins and fluids to leak into her tissues causing her to swell.

Evelyn fought for 53 days, but in the end, she had too much going on for her body to handle with parents Jim and Cherrie deciding to do what was best for Evelyn and let her go.

"Without the consultants and nurses constantly fighting for answers and not giving up on Evelyn, we wouldn't have been able to have had as long as we did with her. We are forever grateful to them for making us feel like a family whilst we were in hospital. Those 53 days will forever hold a big place in our hearts." said Evelyn's mum Cherrie Tucknott.

During Evelyn's time in the hospital, they were fortunate enough to stay in the Ronald McDonald House, just opposite the hospital.

"Living in Llantwit Major, we were 35 - 40 minutes away from the hospital. Ronald McDonald House let us be nearby, giving us somewhere to sleep, wash clothes, share communal kitchen facilities and it's a home from home," said Cherrie Tucknott.

"It's literally a five-minute walk from the maternity ward and they made sure that we had a place to go. So if anything was to happen, we were five minutes away. We had everything we needed there, we were made to feel really welcome by staff, supported with food and drink, tea and coffee."

Following Evelyn's passing, the family were supported by Ty Hafan Children's Hospice on Hayes Road, Sully.

"Ty Hafan is based in a beautiful setting and we were lucky to take Evelyn there. We spoke to them initially to find out what they offer and they give you the chance to do normal family things, which you wouldn't particularly be able to do in the hospital. It gives you an environment to be a family, without many of the monitors, doctors and nurses." said Cherrie Tucknott.

"When you go the hospice, you can go out in the grounds, walk around with your pram, dress your baby and just do normal family things. It's a really special place, where you can go to the sea, listen to the waves, the birds and do all the things we weren't able to do in the hospital. They gave us support beforehand, and after Evelyn passed away and they're still in connection with s now and they do check in from time to time to see how the family's getting on."

Llantwit Major FC has a track record of creating stand-out football shirts, including a previous Mr Blobby Design and Fish & Chips football shirt.

"Our Twitter man, Ben, he's a big fan of Boca Juniors and that's where all of this started. I just think it was marketing, it was to sort of get ourselves out there, creating new links, friendships and partnerships," said Wayne Marsh from Llantwit Major FC.

"With all these things, even with naming the stadium its about trying to draw attention. Being a fairly small club, in terms of the Welsh system, we've got to massively brainstorm. How do you make yourself different to all the other teams in our league?"

"Lots of other teams just spend money, we've not got lots of money, but we've got ideas. We've got dedicated volunteers who put their time, effort and sometimes money into the club and we've got to harness that."

"We need to harness those ideas from people, we're quite good at coming up with outlandish ideas to grab attention and we've created a team of players who want to be part of that. It's nice when you go out and win games, but it's nice when you've got that community spirit, that team spirit and people who want to play for the badge."

The Octopus, which is featured on the charity shirt is inspired by the charity name and the Octopuses given to a premature baby in NICU.

"When a baby's in NICU at the Heath Hospital and they're premature, they give octopuses or certain animals, that have got tentacles on the bottom, which replicates the umbilical cord. When babies are in the mother's womb, they pull on the umbilical cord or they hold on to the umbilical cord and they move about with it," said Cherrie.

"They're obviously not meant to be out of the womb at that moment, so the octopus helps replicate that when they're in an incubator. Evelyn had her octopus from day one and a friend of mine helped me come up with the charity idea, of creating them to raise money for the two charities."

The club's new Octopus creation for the 2024/25 tournament will support Ty Hafan and Ronald McDonald House equally, with the kit available to purchase via https://www.tor-sports.co.uk/llantwit-major-afc-202425-away-shirt

Llantwit Major play the return leg of their Fenix Trophy first round clash against Berchem Sport at the SDM Glass Stadium in Bridgend on 13th November. Tickets are available via Ticketsource.

You can find out more about Evelyn's story and follow the Adventures of Mr Octopus via https://www.instagram.com/adventureswithmroctopus24/