A goat called Bielsa and the 17 Ugandan hens named after Leeds players: Building a little corner of the club 6,500 miles away

Phil Hay 4h ago 20

Kate Murphy’s first memory of the Nkuringo community is of stumbling across it as she crawled out of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. She was there for a 50th birthday present, trekking through the African jungle to catch a glimpse of mountain gorillas.

Nkuringo, a village near the borders with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, struck Murphy as a happy place full of smiling children but it was plainly impoverished. Some of the kids had no shoes. Many of them were in threadbare clothes. When Murphy arrived home in Leeds, she set about looking for a charity that would allow her to donate to Nkuringo directly.

Two months ago, a food aid package from her arrived in a slightly unusual form.

At a cost of £200, she sent 17 hens and a goat to the community through the Nkuringo Education and Community Support, a UK initiative set up to support the area. Tradition has it that livestock donations all get named individually and Murphy, a Leeds United season-ticket holder, sent specific instructions.

The hens were to be named after 17 Leeds players. And the goat, naturally, should be called Bielsa.

Soon she was inundated with photos of people in the village holding the beasts with name cards, with the Ugandan mountains in the background.

“The best ideas come to you in the middle of the night,” Murphy says, and this was one of hers. She had been involved with the charity for a few years and one of the newsletters published by NECS earlier this year explained how some of its patrons were foregoing Easter eggs and buying hens for villages in Uganda instead. It was a small part of a much bigger aid project which has provided educational and medical help for a remote part of central Africa where facilities are basic or in very short supply.

“I thought that as well as providing food aid, it would be nice to get the people there talking about Leeds,” Murphy tells The Athletic. “I doubt they knew much about Leeds before the animals arrive but the trustees of the charity told me they know all about football. I assumed that out there it would all be your Liverpools and Manchester Uniteds. Not any more!”

The photos she received were a warming flow of individual children with hens and the goat, each of them holding a yellow name card written by the headteacher at the village’s secondary school (Raphinha, Struijk, Llorente and others, all spelt perfectly). The picture of the child with the bird named after Mateusz Klich stood out to her because the blue shorts worn by the boy are ripped and falling to pieces, in need of replacing.

“The first time I came across the village, it was very obvious that they had nothing,” Murphy says. “Some of their clothes were torn to rags, some of them had nothing on their feet, but at the same time they were all so happy, almost happier than some kids here, kids who’ve got so much.

“I wanted to help but I also wanted to find a charity who would show me where my money is going. I pay £200 for hens and a goat and there they are. They’re in the photos, so I know what the money is doing. And the smiles of the kids, they’re amazing. I started posting them on Twitter the other week because they’re like that poem by Spike Milligan — Smiling is Infectious. It’s what happens when you look at them.”

Ugandan children hold up the hens named after Leeds United players, with the goat named Bielsa

The question I have is whether the inhabitants of Nkuringo know what this is about; not the food aid itself but the Leeds United references.

Murphy, who is 53 and lives in Sherburn-in-Elmet to the north of Leeds, is a long-time season-ticket holder with a seat in Elland Road’s East Stand and a family who, unintentionally, have names with connections to the club. “My husband’s Luke Murphy,” she says, though not Leeds’ former midfielder. “I’ve got a son called Ben White and another son called Daniel James White. It’s all a total coincidence but we are massively into Leeds. I wanted to spread the word a bit.

“I’m told that the people in the village talk about the names we’ve given the animals and the reason why. I don’t think they’ll get the Bielsa = GOAT reference for now, but maybe one day. If I go there again, I’ll tell them. He had to be the goat. There was no choice. But because we only had 17 hens, deciding who to leave out was a bit difficult. There was one player I felt really guilty about.”

Murphy’s involvement with NECS started with her sponsoring a girl in Nkuringo called Bridgette, paying £120 a year to fund her schooling, and her food and board. COVID-19 has forced the closure of all educational buildings in Uganda and the children are not expected to return to school until January at the earliest. “It worries us, because you see cases there of girls who are sold into marriages to raise money for their families,” Murphy says. “It’s horrendous to say that, but that’s the reality of how difficult life can be there and how difficult money is to come by.

“To some people, £120 is a lot of money; but when you think about it, £120 a year to give a girl an education isn’t much, not for the difference it makes. Bridgette’s 15 now and doing so well. I get letters and all of her school reports.” NECS started out eight years ago with the aim of putting 12 children through proper education. Today, it funds places for more than 450.

Kate received heartwarming photos of the individual children with the hens

The idea of sending the names of Bielsa and his players to Africa, though, was born of something much closer to home.

Three years ago, the son of a friend of Murphy’s, Nicky, suffered life-changing injuries when an articulated lorry hit his school bus as he was stepping off it. Murphy offered as much help to the family as she could and told his mother Karen that she would drive Nicky to and from school when Karen went back to work after lockdown.

“I think he thought I was a bit of a weirdo at first,” Karen says, “but what happened to them was devastating and I wanted to help. Karen wasn’t sure how she’d get Nicky to school after lockdown and he’d said no to a few people who’d offered to drive him. Obviously he didn’t want to go on the school bus again either. But he’s a big Leeds fan and for some reason, maybe because I was Leeds and he was Leeds, he said yes to my offer.

Kate was sent photos of people in the village holding the animals with name cards, with the Ugandan mountains in the background

“Through his insurance pay-out, I was entitled to a little money for driving him. I didn’t want any, so when it arrived I said to him, ‘Why don’t we take this, do something positive with it and send some hens to the village, named after Leeds United players?’ It was a bit of fun and it made us laugh. We get so much pleasure from seeing the photos. I love to see him smile, because all he wants is a normal life.”

The player she feels guilty about omitting from her list is Adam Forshaw.

Forshaw made his first league start for Leeds in two years against Leicester City just over a week ago but, back at the end of August, when Murphy was arranging the food aid delivery, it was hard to predict what part he would play after so many months out injured. The timing worked nicely in terms of transfers, however, as Helder Costa left and Daniel James signed from Manchester United just as the donation was about to be processed. “They don’t have a Costa but they do have a James,” Murphy says. “That was just in the nick of time.

The hens in the village of Nkuringo are named after 17 Leeds players

“The one I ran out of money for was Forshaw. I felt really torn and guilty about that. Then there were players who had left the club too, (Gjanni) Alioski, (Gaetano) Berardi and Pablo Hernandez. I wanted to include all of them but I couldn’t include everyone. It was difficult to decide.”

The solution? Last week, after seeing the response to the photos of Nkuringo she posted on Twitter, Murphy launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for food donations to other villages in the area. Her £250 target was cleared in four days. The next batch of names will be Leeds United legends, of which Hernandez is certain to be one.

Kate said she felt guilty about not naming a hen after Forshaw

“That’s another challenge altogether because already I’m thinking about who I pick and who I leave out,” Murphy says. “But with the money we get I’ll send as many hens and nametags as I can, just for a bit of fun.”

She is building a little corner of Leeds, 6,500 miles away.

Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_.

21 COMMENTS

You

1m ago

Phil - this is a superb story, and I loved the way you wrote it.

Clearly, I could not find the go Fund me page quick enough. Up to about £950 now as of tuesday morning.

I also wanted to suggest that one of the next hens, might be named either Phil Hay or Gooooooooooooaaaaaal (check spelling)

Phil Hay

STAFF

52m ago

2 likes

Morning all - some of you are asking for the link to Kate’s Go Fund Me page. It’s here:

www.gofundme.com/f/leeds-united-legends-goats-and-hens

Anthony N.

4h ago

19 likes

What an incredible story. This is a perfect example of why I subscribe to The Athletic.

Lance D.

4h ago

2 likes

Ditto. Thank you Phil.

Mark E.

3h ago

1 like

That was fantastic.

Al F.

3h ago

6 likes

2018 I started following the Biesla story and thought, let me find a local writer who covers the club. Google led me to the Yorkshire Evening Post and a writer called Phil Hay. Little did I know that a few short years later, I would know his voice, read his words weekly, buy his book, and become as fully indoctrinated into the world of Leeds United as one can be while living 8 time zones away in California. What a journey. I know one day it will end, but not too soon, please. Masterful work, Phil.

Phil Hay

STAFF

2h ago

2 likes

@Al F. thanks Al. It’s been quite an adventure for all of us (and still not finished yet 👍)

Matthew R.

3h ago

1 like

GREAT article, but FYI, Sherburn in Elmet is East of Leeds, not North. 👍

Phil Hay

STAFF

2h ago

@Matthew R. can we settle on north east? 😂

Matthew R.

2h ago

😂😂😂

Michael A.

3h ago

2 likes

Thanks Phil, made my day.

S B.

2h ago

1 like

That was a beautiful piece. chefs kiss

Callum B.

2h ago

1 like

Heartwarming

Pete D.

2h ago

7 likes

Leeds that

And just for a change, I think there should be a couple of external links in the text - NECS and the go fund me page

Jon G.

1h ago

3 likes

@Pete D. It is gofundme.com/f/leeds-united-legends-goats-and-hens

Ewa Z.

2h ago

1 like

Great piece

The J.

2h ago

1 like

Beautiful story Phil. Made my day. Thanks a lot!

Jon G.

1h ago

3 likes

I absolutely loved this piece Phil and my next port of call will be the GoFundMe page - if only to make sure there is a fit and healthy Forshaw clucking around in central Africa

Anita F.

1h ago