Former Ipswich Town midfielder Simon Milton and Aston Villa star Tyrone Mings are working together to help a group of Aston Villa fans in Ghana, while the former midfielder is also about to embark on his most ambitious project yet on his next trip to the West African country with the Futurestars charity.
Milton, 59, left Portman Road in the summer of 2017 to become the director of Futurestars, a project that teaches corporate social responsibility (CSR) through sport in Ghana and Togo.
Milton was introduced to Owusu Boakye Amando, the man behind Ghana Lions AVFC, who introduced Milton to ex-Blues and current Aston Villa and England defender Mings, 29.
“I got introduced to this guy by Ian Byrne, who is one of our charity ambassadors, and Ian Walker, who is the former British High Commissioner in Ghana,” Milton explained.
“Amando, who is a really good guy, is based in a village called Juaben just outside Kumasi, which is about six or seven-hour journey from Accra where I stay.
“They were up north and they met him and crazily he’s a massive Aston Villa fan. He came down to Accra and we’ve helped him with kit and equipment and we’ve donated stuff to them.
“We’ve donated Ipswich kit, Norwich kit because, to be fair, they’re Aston Villa fans, but they don’t care as long as it’s clean and nice and new.
“I got introduced to him and then I thought I’ll give Tyrone a ring and I asked Tyrone to send me a signed shirt.
“In the end, Tyrone sent two, a home shirt and an away shirt, both his, signed by the team, which I presented to Amando to take back up to his team and show it off, which was lovely.
Finally ?@_TMAcademy and I are delighted to partner with @NathanDawe along with the expertise of @futurestars15 to raise funds for @AvfcGhana. Our aim is to help improve football and education in their village, offering children better opportunities.https://t.co/0lhFxss0cM
— Tyrone Mings (@TyroneMings) July 26, 2022
“Tyrone did that and then moving forwards wanted to do more than just provide the two shirts, so we were talking about what he wants to do.
“What Amando wants to do in his football club, which is linked to a school, is do what we do at Futurestars.
“He is looking to help provide an education, get kids into his football club, get them into school, get teachers to come and teach his kids at certain times. He almost wants to do what we do and I’ve said to him that I’m going to be able to help him to do that.
“We have no partners in Kumasi, so we have no finance in that part of the country, but following conversations with Tyrone and a girl called Leigh Paul, who runs the Tyrone Mings Academy, and there’s another guy involved called Nathan Dawe, who is a top level UK DJ and a massive Aston Villa fan, they set up a Go Fund Me to raise funds for the Ghana Lions.
“I then worked with Amando on what we were going to do with the money. Once you start raising money and you’re giving it out to people, everything has to be compliant.
“We’re almost like their service provider making sure that when he asks for the money, he gets the money at the right time, we don’t just hand it all over. We go with him to purchase all the things he needs.
“He needed some bibs, balls, cones, things like that for his football club, which our country manager, Emmanuel Okyne-Tetteh, took him to buy in Accra this afternoon.
“All in all, it’s a group of people trying to do something amazing to support a football-mad Aston Villa fan. Everybody in his village is now an Aston Villa fan.
“The role of Futurestars really is to make sure that everything that they do is compliant and we are helping people with education, helping people with getting equipment.
“I am going to make a trip up to Kumasi to meet Amando and his team and the school and almost mentor him.”
Futurestars works in five schools in Tema, the country’s main port, one in Accra, the capital, and another in Lomé in Togo.
Milton’s next visit to Ghana will be a busy one: “My next trip is in October when we’re refurbishing a primary school.
“This is the biggest thing we’ve ever undertaken. I’ve got 12 ex-pats, who I’ve known over the years, who are flying out to Ghana to help us with this.
“We’ve got about 60 volunteers in Ghana from different companies who support us, including various high level staff from the British High Commission.
“We’re going to totally refurbish a primary school block. It’s going to be cleaned, painted inside and out, concrete stairs will get done, solar panels put on the roof by another company, who are going to make sure we’ve got lights in every classroom, fans in every classroom, just to keep the air moving.
“These classrooms have got the wiring in but they’ve got no lights, the sockets don’t work. We’re going to put that all back.
“And it’s not like we need 20 sockets for a bank of computers, you need a couple of sockets in each classroom, for laptops for the teachers and then just have a fan and some light because when it gets dark in Ghana during the day because it’s overcast or the rainy season, it is dark.
“This project we’ve decided to take on is going to be massive for us and I fly out on October 11th for a couple of weeks to start and finish it.”
He also has some Town fans, people who were sponsors during Milton’s time as director of academy sponsorship at Portman Road, joining him.
“Duncan Foster and David Rice, they’re always very interested and saying ‘I’m going to come out’ and this is the ideal time to get them out.
“They’re not only going to see the projects that we do there, they’re actually going to take part and help out, get their hands dirty, do something amazing over the period.
“We’ve got the school for two weeks and then we do the handover. We hand the school back over to the Ghanaian Education Services, the head teacher, the local MP, all the dignitaries plus high level staff from the British High Commission will be there.
“It’s a brilliant CSR project for everybody to get involved in. The charity will fund that and look after the people.
“We are not a refurbishment charity, we’re a sport and education charity, but this is a really big thing to do and will have a massive impact in what we’re trying to do.
“My long-term goal is that somebody walks along and goes ‘Wow, that looks amazing, we’ll fund the next one’.
“That’s why I’ve chosen a small block in a big school because this is a 30 metre by 10 metre single storey block with three classrooms and three storerooms for about 120 kids.”
Futurestars has also forged a link with the Ipswich Town Foundation with the two organisations benefiting from the recent Tour of Suffolk Cycle Ride to the tune of £18,707.51 each. But the tie-up will continue in other ways.
“We’ve just finished the bike ride, which was very successful,” Milton added. “I’ve just entered into a partnership with the Ipswich Town Foundation regarding future fundraising events together.
“They have an education programme for students between 16 to 18 and are going to organise a trip to bring a group of them out to Ghana to come and work on our projects.
“At the same time, I’m going to bring a couple of my Ghanaian coaches over to the UK and they’re going to work with the Foundation staff going into schools in the UK. Brilliant opportunities both ways, Ipswich to Ghana, Ghana to Ipswich.
“The aim is now that we’re post-Covid and people have the confidence to start travelling again and volunteering again, is to grow our volunteering side of the charity, get more people out, so I’m working with organisations to do that.
“Obviously the Foundation, we’re also working with Suffolk New College, with Ipswich High School in Woolverstone, who are all looking to start doing trips again for school children and sixth formers, to get them out there and show them something amazing.”
Futurestars is also working with former Town director Holly Bellingham and her husband Simon Turner to support Ukrainian charities.
“I got given about 600 warm hoodies and padded coats by a company called Luke, owned by a guy called Luke Roper, they were dead stock,” Milton explained. “He’s another Aston Villa fan, they do Aston Villa’s leisurewear.
“He sent them to me saying he had some kit because we ship kit out, we ship thousands of items of football kit from Ipswich, Norwich, Brighton, West Ham, Stoke and local clubs like Bury Town and Leiston, everybody, out to Ghana.
“He said he’d got some kit for me, but when he sent it through it was really warm hoodies and puffer jackets and the last thing they need in Ghana is a puffer jacket.
“I’ve had them since 2019, but they’re all brand new, they’re currently in storage in Ipswich and I’m now redirecting them into a project that Holly and Simon are doing to send them out to Ukraine and also to be given out to Ukrainian families who are in the UK ready for the winter.”
Like Town fans, Milton is delighted with the start the Blues have made to the season but says everyone needs to keep their feet on the ground.
“This could be the most amazing year that we’ve had for 20-odd years,” he enthused. “We’re on a run, we’re going away from home, travelling and they’re winning games, they’re engaging with the crowd, the players are loving it, the fans are loving it, the management are loving, the owners are loving it.
“I’m thoroughly enjoying what we’re seeing and I think the message is to continue to get behind the team, enjoy this amazing year, but don’t get carried away and don’t become arrogant, don’t become one of those arrogant supporters because we’ve gone through a period of struggle and now that it’s going to become really good, let’s not forget those years of struggle and let’s just be humble and enjoy this rather than become big-headed football fans, who look down on clubs that we’re actually sharing the league with for a reason.
“The manager’s come out and said no one’s getting carried away, the players are playing with an unbelievable smile on their faces. But let’s not pretend that this run is going to continue right the way through the season, that we’re not going to have tough times.
“Being the team to beat in the division because of your form and the talent that we’ve got at our disposal right now, and the size of the club and the history of the club is good, but don’t be the team to hate. I think there’s a difference.
“We’re all in this league for a reason, results were the reason we’re in this league. We are one of the bigger clubs in this league without a shadow of a doubt but let’s be one of the bigger and better and more humble football clubs in this division.”