Young Man Utd fundraising star inspired by Tyson Fury and Christian Eriksen turns attention to Goodison Park

Young Manchester United fan Isaac O'Connor is only nine years old and has raised over £12,000 for charity in the last two years. Next up is a trip into the enemy territory of Goodison Park.

The Old Trafford season ticket holder had the seed planted for his fundraising streak in 2017 when bumping into Tyson Fury in a hotel with his family. Unbelievably, the United fan and boxing legend ended up enjoying dinner together with their loved ones.

After lockdown, Isaac learnt that Fury's daughter Athena needed emergency treatment in the Alder Hey hospital after complications in her birth and felt moved into action.

Soon Isaac had planned to walk from his home in St Helens to a Manchester United match and raised £4,000 doing so. It was such a success that the youngster wanted to go again, this time a walk from Old Trafford to Anfield. Support from Simon Jordan, Jim White and Wayne Rooney, with Bryan Robson even joining Isaac on the walk, helped that fundraising figure hit £12,000.

This year, Isaac has turned his attention to another cause, inspired by a current Manchester United star.

Dad Chris O'Connor said: "Isaac's very outgoing and energetic. He loves life and being with people. He likes being the soul of the party!

"This event goes back to the Euros, Isaac saw that Christian Eriksen had collapsed on the pitch. We decided we wanted to raise money for defibrillators.

"We knew about the Oliver King Foundation and that's how it all came about really."

Oliver King was a 12-year-old boy from Liverpool who passed away after having a cardiac arrest due to a condition known as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS). The condition kills 12 young people under the age of 35 every single week in the UK and chances of survival are significantly boosted by using a defibrillator, which wasn't there for Oliver.

The Foundation was set up in the youngster's memory to install defibrillators and provide CPR training.

Come the weekend of May 20, Isaac and pals will sit on every seat in Goodison Park to raise money for the cause in what is an event a long time in the planning, with the family initially hoping to do so at Old Trafford.

Chris said: "It was very disappointing really as we got a lot of mixed signals last year after speaking on a weekly basis. We announced we wanted to do this on the Kay Burley show a year ago. They have agreed to donate a signed shirt which is very kind and we will auction.

"Oli King was a massive Everton fan and his dad was too. As much as Isaac's disappointed not to do it at United, I don't think it could be any better. Oliver would have loved to have done it at Goodison Park and it's in his memory, it means more to the Oliver King Foundation to do it at Everton. The club has been amazing."

Alongside Isaac will be friends who support Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United as they work to raise over £100,000 to buy 100 defibrillators for the local community.

Local MP for Liverpool Walton, the constituency which includes Goodison Park, Dan Carden backed the efforts. He told LiverpoolWorld: “I am grateful to Isaac and his friends and wish them all the best in their fundraising efforts, which will go a long way to support the Oliver King Foundation’s life-saving work.”

The full fundraising team comprises Manchester United fans Isaac and Charlie, Manchester City fans Ava and Aimee,  Liverpool fans Joey, Max, Jack, Noah and Eddie and Everton fans Robert, Elanor and Lucy.

You can sponsor Isaac and the team on the event's GoFundMe page.