Graeme Souness fights back tears and struggles to speak on live TV as he reveals he’s swimming the English Channel for a ‘butterfly disease’ charity, weeks after leaving his Sky Sports punditry job at 70
An emotional Graeme Souness has revealed he is swimming the English Channel to help people living with the rare skin disorder Epidermolysis bullosa.
The former Liverpool and Scotland captain, who has just stepped away from his punditry role on Sky Sports after 15 years, fought back tears as he described the pain and misery the illness brings to children.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mail Sport columnist Souness, 70, said: ‘It’s the most horrendous disease. If you’re inflicted by it you must wake up every morning and say ‘why me?’
‘It’s a desperate situation. And then the parents have to deal with that. And that’s why we’re doing this.
‘I am involved in this because of how evil this disease is. If people haven’t experienced it, or seen it, you have no idea how desperate this thing is.’
Former Liverpool and Scotland footballer Graeme Souness will swim the English Channel to raise money for charities supporting those suffering from Epidermolysis bullosa
Souness will be taking on the 21-mile Channel challenge next month alongside Andy Grist, the father of a 14-year-old girl, Isla, who suffers from the condition
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Souness will swim 21 miles across the Channel on June 18 to raise funds for the charity DEBRA, which supports people living with the illness.
He wants to raise at least £1.1million, because he wore the No 11 on the football field.
Souness was filmed chatting to Isla Grist, a 14-year-old girl who required plastic surgery on her hands because of the degenerative disease.
Isla described the agony of even having her bandages changed on her hands, with Souness almost lost for words at her bravery.
Souness plus Isla’s dad, Andy, and four others will be taking on the waters between Dover and Calais next month and a fundraising page has been set up on the DEBRA website.
‘Isla is just the most courageous human being I’ve ever come across,’ Souness added. ‘When I’m in her company, I’m very tearful.
‘She just inspires me, she is just unbelievably courageous and brave.’
The crossing could take up to 16 hours to swim but Souness said: ‘I wanted to do something that could make a difference to Isla’s life and to the lives of so many others living with EB, and the slightly crazy idea of swimming the English Channel was suggested.
‘Now I’m not one to walk away from a challenge, but this is all new to me; despite living by the sea for the past 16 years, I’ve never been in it, and so this will certainly be the most difficult challenge I’ve ever taken on.
‘I am determined to complete the swim, though. Alongside Isla’s dad, Andy, and the rest of the team, we will complete the challenge and in doing so raise awareness of EB and support to find the treatments that are so desperately needed.’
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