Liverpool Legends charity match sets new £1.2m record as Sven-Goran Eriksson pays tribute to city

Liverpool Legends' charity match with Ajax last month has raised £1.2m for the LFC Foundation, setting a new record in the process.

And Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was managing the Reds' side on the day against the Dutch giants, says he will "never forget" what was a dream come true for the lifelong Liverpool supporter.

Eriksson revealed earlier this year that he had always dreamed of coaching at Anfield after he told the world of a terminal cancer diagnosis and the former England boss was granted his wish when the Foundation reached out for him to take part in their annual charity match during the March international break.

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Close to 60,000 fans attended the game on March 23 as the likes of Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt turned out once more at their old stamping ground. All of the funds raised will now go directly to the club’s official charity to support the work it does in the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

Eriksson said: "It was an incredible day and something I will never forget, and to know that the occasion helped to raise so much for the LFC Foundation makes it even more special for me.

“It is an unbelievable amount of money that has been raised for the LFC Foundation, everybody knows how special the LFC family is and everyone has come together again here to help to raise so much for a fantastic cause, which will help so many people in the city and beyond.

“I learnt a lot about the work of the LFC Foundation while in Liverpool for the game and the work that they do is absolutely fantastic.”

The money raised from the game will aid the Foundation's work in the Liverpool City Region and beyond, with a large proportion of the funds going toward their education programmes.

LFC Foundation currently work with more than 120 schools across the region through a variety of programmes that help to keep more children in education, while teaching them life skills and tackling a number of social issues such as involvement in gangs and crime as well as support with their mental health.

Matt Parish, chief executive of LFC Foundation, said: “The Legends games are always special occasions and none more so than this year, to have a sell-out crowd and our highest attendance was incredible and to have reached our highest total raises from a single game is fantastic. Those funds will help us to continue to make a real difference in the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

“A large percentage of those funds will go towards our education work and it will enable us to expand our programmes across more schools, train more staff and positively impact more local pupils, which can only benefit the whole city for the future.

“We are extremely grateful to all of the supporters who came to the game and to all of the players and management that took part, days like those really show the best of Liverpool Football Club.”

Opening up on his cancer diagnosis January, the 75-year-old Eriksson said he had been told his best-case scenario would see him live for another 12 months with the illness.

He said: "I know that in the best case it's about a year, in the worst case even less. Or in the best case I suppose even longer. I don't think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can't put a day on it.

"It's better not to think about it. You have to trick your brain. I could go around thinking about that all the time and sit at home and be miserable and think I'm unlucky and so on."