Football fan raises over £43k for charity as fundraiser goes viral after abuse

23 August 2023 , 10:05

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Nathan West is a fanatical Norwich fan

A Norwich City fan who is set to raise a phenomenal amount for charity in October has said "the football community has my back" after he received huge support following online abuse.

Nathan West will tackle his first ever half marathon in October as a fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support. And the Canaries fanatic has now delivered the perfect response to the internet trolls after he smashed through the £43,000 barrier.

West, who lives in Earsham, gave an interview to the PinkUn ahead of Norwich's game with Millwall last Saturday, predicting a win for his team and for Jonathan Rowe to score. He was proved right, with the winger scoring the opener en route to David Wagner's side winning 3-1 to go third in the Championship.

But after footage of him talking was posted on Twitter, 'Westy' was subjected to hateful comments. However, the behaviour of those responsible has now backfired, with the wider football family now rallying around West and getting behind his charity exploits.

Since Saturday, Rowe himself has pledged a signed shirt whilst a number of first-team players have donated to his cause, whilst he's been made a 'Community Hero' by his beloved Norwich. And Wembley Stadium have reached out to offer England tickets.

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BBC Radio Norfolk's Chris Reeve also made a public offer for a crate of beers after West's prediction mirrored his pre-match bet, only for West to politely request that he made a donation to his fundraising efforts instead. And the online link soon went viral, resulting in a flood of donations.

"Chris Reeve said he owed me a crate of beers for me predicting Rowe to score as he had Rowe to score in a bet, I said no thanks to the beers and please donate to my fundraiser," the overnight star told edp24. “He whacked his bet winnings in which was £60 to get me to £500 and shared the link and it’s gone mental."

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West has now raised more than £43,000 for charity

The interview clip has now been viewed nearly 26 million times, and the 31-year-old insisted the initial negativity did not bother him: "The abuse is just small-minded people, it doesn’t bother me, I'm just so happy that the football community has my back," he said.

"I’ve calmed down now, but yesterday I was so overwhelmed and couldn't believe it really. I was only hoping for £500, which I thought would be achievable as I started the fundraiser in July and am doing the run in October, and it’s gone absolutely crazy."

And after promising to try and "smash" his run in October, West also revealed he was motivated by a poignant reason: “My grandad passed away when I was seven from cancer and my other nan had pancreas cancer a few years ago, so this charity meant the most to me. And so many people know somebody affected by cancer so it relates to so many people."

You can donate to Westy's fundraiser on his Just Giving page.

Fraser Watson