Merseyside’s red and blue football legends Alan Kennedy and Graham Stuart have put their allegiances to one side during Derby week to support a new community running event to remember the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives in the Hillsborough tragedy.

Alan and Graham joined forces this afternoon (Tuesday, 3 February) at the Isla Gladstone Conservatory – located in Stanley Park between Anfield Stadium and Goodison Park – to officially back the inaugural Run For The 96 5K, which will take place at 9.30am on Sunday, 19 April.

As well as enjoying friendly banter in the lead up to this weekend’s 224th Merseyside Derby, the former players stood side by side and encouraged others to sign up for the Run For The 96 5K and raise funds for the charities.

The support of Alan and Graham follows the recent announcement that the official charity partners for Run For The 96 5K are the Liverpool FC Foundation and Everton in the Community.

Run For The 96 5K is a new legacy running event encouraging participants to walk, jog or run as they remember the fans lost, their families and the survivors. The route takes in Stanley Park, with Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium and Everton’s Goodison Park home grounds as the backdrop.

The fun run has the support of the Hillsborough Family Support Group. All finishers will receive a commemorative medal and T-shirt.

Participants are invited to fundraise for the Liverpool FC Foundation and Everton in the Community, the charitable arms of the city’s two football clubs to enable them to continue their fantastic work across Merseyside. This is a key part of the event’s commitment to ensuring that local communities benefit from the legacy run. All funds donated or raised will be split equally between the two charities.

Reds’ left back Alan Kennedy played for Liverpool from 1978 to 1985. He made 359 club appearances, scoring 20 goals and winning two international caps for England. Alan scored the winning goals in two European Cup Finals, against Real Madrid in 1981 and against AS Roma in 1984.

Alan Kennedy commented:

“I am delighted to be a part of Run For The 96. It promises to be a fantastic event and will help to raise funds for Liverpool FC Foundation and Everton in the Community, which will enable them to continue providing opportunities for young people and adults throughout the city. I am looking forward to seeing the red and blue runners coming together to show their support.”

Nicknamed Diamond by Evertonians, Graham Stuart played for Everton from 1993 to 1997, making 161 appearances and scoring 31 goals.

Graham Stuart added:

“I feel extremely privileged to be able to represent Everton at the inaugural Run For The 96 5K. I am sure it will be a fantastic event which hopefully the whole city will get behind, both red and blue, as we unite to raise money for our two great charities.”

The event is the brainchild of Dom Williams, a Liverpool fan who has staged the three-day Hillsborough-Anfield 96-mile team running challenge for the past three years.

This year, the main run will be 70 miles over two days, with the third day being the Run For The 96 5K in Liverpool. The change of format is Dom’s vision to create a legacy event to involve the wider community.

Dom Williams commented:

“It’s a huge boost to have the support of Alan and Graham for the very first Run For The 96 5K. There will be many Merseyside football fans thrilled to have the rare opportunity to run alongside the legends on this very special day.”

Dom is working with race organisers BTR Liverpool, to plan and deliver the event. BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for race events in Liverpool City Region, its portfolio includes the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash and BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K.

BTR Liverpool Race Director Alan Rothwell said:

“Everyone signing up to take part has the same goal – and that’s running to remember the 96. It doesn’t matter which football team you support, we know that everyone will run as one on the day. We’re extremely grateful to Alan and Graham for their support.”

Run For The 96 5K entry fee is £20 (£22 online). The entry fee will pay to stage and deliver all aspects of the event.

Find out more at www.BTRLiverpool.com or www.hillsborough-anfieldrun.com where people can enter online; download an entry form; download a sponsor form; or make a donation direct to the joint charity fund via Virgin Giving.