London Broncos have teamed up with blood cancer charity DKMS to organise ‘Emilia’s Big Day’, a family fun day and stem cell donor registration event, before their Betfred Championship game against Bradford Bulls this Saturday (6 September).
The Broncos will welcome Emilia Mackay, 7, and her family to The Cherry Red Records Stadium ahead of their clash with the high-flying Bulls for a fun-filled afternoon of entertainment, interactive games, street food and more.
Emilia was diagnosed with a genetic condition called aplastic anaemia, a condition which occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells, resulting in Emilia needing to undergo a life-saving stem cell transplant.
Emilia’s Big Day was formed through London Broncos’ partnership with DKMS and inspired by lifelong rugby league and Bradford Bulls fan, Andrew Foster.
Andrew’s son, Rycroft, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Shwachman-Diamond syndrome just weeks after he was born in 2022, resulting in Rycroft falling seriously ill.
Andrew and his wife Catherine were informed by doctors that Rycroft would need a stem cell transplant and with no one in their immediate family being a compatible donor, doctors turned to the stem cell donor register where a match was found.
The stem cell transplant resulted in a significant improvement in Rycroft’s health, but he tragically passed away aged just 16 months after contracting an infection whilst his immune system was still recovering.
After Rycroft’s passing, Andrew found solace in the rugby league community, developing relationships with other fathers who had lost children too.
The likes of Geoff Burrow, ex-Bradford Northern player Glenn Barraclough and Featherstone Rovers fan Andy Johnson all became a great source of support for Andrew and all of whom he knew only through the rugby league network.
“That’s where the rugby league community really comes together,” Andrew explained.
“A couple of nights before Rycroft’s funeral, we put it out on social media that he’d died, and we were going to try and raise some money in his memory for the charities that had supported him in his life.
“We got a great response – particularly from the rugby league community. I’ve got to give Derek [Beaumont] his flowers – he threw in a thousand pounds and retweeted it very early on which helped it gain momentum.
“Bradford Bulls dedicated a game to Rycroft. We sang his song at the game, had a minute’s applause and a collection at the match.
“We’ve taken Rycroft signs and flags to Wembley each [Challenge] Cup Final since he died and they’ve been featured on the BBC.”
Andrew’s love for Bradford Bulls and affinity to London Broncos helped build the foundations for Emilia’s big day, which has ultimately been driven by his unrelenting passion to raise money and awareness for DKMS, a charity close to his heart.
“I’ve literally lived every other week at Great Ormond Street. There’s all the kids there with their parents. You get talking to them, to the nurses and you’re effectively put on a course learning about the stem cell process.
“The more people can learn about that, the more they realise that it’s an amazing treatment that more people need to know about, and how they [DKMS] can’t magic the stem cell donors out of thin air. We need to have more of them.”
Fans attending Emilia’s Big Day will play their part in supporting DKMS, with 25% of match ticket sales being donated to the charity, while attendees can also join the stem cell register on the day by completing a few simple mouth swabs.
Anyone aged 17 – 55 years who is in general good health can register, and it just takes a few minutes. Most people that join the register never get called to donate, but if you are matched, for someone like Rycroft it can give them more time with their family, or in the case of patients like Emilia, it could even save a life.
Those unable to attend on the day can play their part too, by donating to the charity or signing up to the stem cell register through their website – dkms.org.uk.
“In terms of inclusivity, one of the exciting things about Emilia’s Big Day is that there’s an opportunity, even if you can’t contribute financially, to get on the stem cell register yourself or going to find someone who can get on the register and helping them get on.
“You can contribute without paying a penny. It’s an inclusive cause and something we can all work on no matter what your financial situation.”
The support Andrew has received - and continues to receive - from the rugby league community has highlighted the very best of the sport in its ability to bring people together during times of need.
“Everyone can get very upset very quickly with each other but that will never be the case with Rycroft. He’s one person in rugby league that everyone can look at and think positive things about and want to do things in his name that are going to help other people in Rycroft’s position, whatever age they are.
“Rugby league in its nature is adversarial. It’s competitive. So it’s good to have this stuff with Rycroft, with Emilia, that brings people together. It doesn’t matter who you support, what your opinions are, you can come together and get behind this.
“Getting to know Emilia and her family, they had no connection with rugby league before. But they came along [to a Broncos match] and loved it. Now they’ve all got Broncos jerseys and they’re Broncos fans. They genuinely look forward to going to games.
“Originally, Emilia’s big day was going to be her first rugby league match ever, but we couldn’t keep her away! If we didn’t have rugby league, then what’s the vehicle? Rugby League has been so central to what we’ve done. [Without it] we would’ve found a way to move forward, but it wouldn’t have been the same.”
Tickets for Emilia’s Big Day are on sale now, with prices starting from £20 for adults and £5 for juniors. Get yours HERE!
