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Club Legends stories - forberfoundation.org

Club Legends stories

Joe and Maggie Forber - Unsung Heroes

Joe and Maggie Forber won the Unsung Hero award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013 for their work promoting basketball in Manchester.

Click on the ‘play’ button to watch the video on the BBC website.

Club Legends

Andrew Lovedale

Andrew was born in Benin, Nigeria in 1985 and came to England as a 16 year old in 2002. He had relatives in London so had a home to go to but not much more!

Andrew Lovedale

Andrew was born in Benin, Nigeria in 1985 and came to England as a 16 year old in 2002. He had relatives in London so had a home to go to but not much more!

Having heard of the excellence of the Magic programme, he asked to attend our summer Camp in Manchester. The Club recognised enough potential to invite him to join our programme and continue his education at Loreto College in Manchester.  He also played for the Loreto Academy team.

We had several benefactors who were able to help Andrew financially with accommodation and playing fees. His own considerable contribution to his living costs came from work at our Centre which he performed admirably throughout his 3-year stay with us.

His remarkable improvement led to a 4-year Scholarship offer at the prestigious Davidson College in North Carolina, USA.   Playing in the same team as Steph Curry enabled Davidson to reach the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament in 2008.  Andrew played pro-ball in France and Switzerland before returning to the USA.

I am sure that he would say that his greatest achievement came after his basketball career ended, when he set up his A2S Foundation in Davidson which gives Nigerian youngsters the opportunity to develop educationally and enjoy their sporting activities.  Any further comment on his outstanding work with the A2S Foundation is best served by looking at the website. www.a2sfoundation.org

Andrew has shown that, given the opportunities to thrive, it is possible to do great work in the community in addition to having a basketball career. We are proud of his attainments.

November 2021

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Georgia Jones

Georgia first began to play at our Club as a 4 year old and her first competitive game for the Mystics was in the U14 National League as an 8 year old.

Georgia Jones

Georgia first began to play at our Club as a 4 year old and her first competitive game for the Mystics was in the U14 National League as an 8 year old!

A stellar career for the Mystics included multiple England appearances at U14/16/18 levels as a player and also as a captain. She became the youngest ever player to represent GB as a 16 year old.

Georgia had many offers of Scholarships in the USA and chose Oral Roberts University, in Oklahoma, to go to the States aged 18 after her A levels. She became a 4-year starter for ORU, an excellent indication of her standard and value as a team player. Her major academic subject was Marketing.

After her College career, she had spells at Barking Abbey (London) and Romania before pursuing her education by taking a Masters Degree in Sport Management at Loughborough University, combined with playing WBBL for Leicester Riders.

Finally, she arrived ‘home’ to Manchester and has played for the Mystics WBBL team since 2016 whilst being a full time employee at Basketball England.

Georgia lists as her greatest achievements:

  • 72 caps for GB Senior Women
  • Commonwealth Games Silver Medal for England at Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018
  • 4th place for GB at Eurobasket 2019 – highest ever place for GB which earned a place in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2020.

We are proud of Georgia’s achievements and, as importantly, the way she has conducted herself as a role model for other young players.

November 2021

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Haris Charalambous

Haris was born in 1984 in Old Trafford and attended Stretford HS. He started with our Club at the age of 12 and became an outstanding player.

Haris Charalambouss

Haris Charalambous died during a light training session at Toledo University, USA on 9 October 2006. He was in the second year of a 4-year Scholarship at the NCAA Division 1 University.  At 6’10”, he played the Centre position and became a dominant inside player at Toledo.

Haris was born in 1984 in Old Trafford and attended Stretford HS. He started with our Club at the age of 12 when we were based in Sale, Trafford and became an outstanding player, not only representing England at the various age levels, but also captaining his country.

Haris had the true character of a Magic player, always giving his very best and being the ultimate team player.

We have honoured Haris since 2006 by hosting the Haris International Tournament at our Centre on 27-29 December. It was a major event in the calendar for Basketball England and had attracted teams from the whole of the UK plus top quality teams from USA, Spain, Germany, France, Turkey, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we have been unable to hold it in recent years.

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Charity no. 1090437

0779 068 6496

forberfoundation@manchestermagicandmystics.co.uk​

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