Marching on Cancer: George's experience

If you ask five-year-old George Slater what his favourite thing to do is, you can be confident his reply will be “playing football”. He can usually be found pretending to be Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier with his older brother, Harry.

The family are all life-long Leeds fans, and dad Matt has had a season ticket for more than 25 years.

He said: “The boys have definitely assumed the mantle of Leeds United fans now. It’s a big part of what we do; every weekend we’ll sit down and watch the football.”

When Matt saw that Yorkshire Cancer Research and Leeds United were offering fans affected by cancer the chance to win hospitality tickets to Elland Road, he thought nobody could deserve it more than George.

George was diagnosed with leukaemia in September 2020, a week before his fourth birthday, and spent the next six weeks in hospital receiving treatment. His treatment will continue until November 2023.

Matt said: “It’s amazing the resilience that children have. He started school in September last year, and he takes everything in his stride. It’s been hard and there’s still a long way to go, but we’re getting there.

“Even when he was in hospital, he was kicking a ball around on the ward. Because of everything he’d gone through, and how much he loves playing football out in the garden, I thought he deserved to have that opportunity to win hospitality tickets."

“I took the phone call to say he won, and I couldn’t quite believe it. It was great that people had read about his nomination and thought that he was as worthy as we did. It was unbelievable.”

The family attended the final home match of the 2021-22 season. The nail-biting game against Brighton ended in a draw after a last-minute goal from Pascal Struijk. The match was George’s first trip to see the Whites play at home.

Mum Emma said: “To be able to take both of our boys to watch Leeds United at Elland Road was really special.”

Matt added: “I think taking your child to their first game can be more emotional for you than for your child. It was really special to all be there together and the last-minute goal capped off a fantastic day.”

As official charity partner of the club, Yorkshire Cancer Research also invited George, along with his brother and dad, to a tour of Elland Road. The family were joined by other children and young people affected by cancer.

After a tour of the iconic stadium, the families were surprised by players Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Joe Gelhardt.

Harry said: “The best bit was seeing the players. I was very surprised when Raphinha tapped me on the shoulder.”