If there’s one thing those One Direction lads excel at, apart from singing of course, it’s using their fame to help the less fortunate. We’ve all seen Louis’ continued involvement with the Eden Dora trust and Harry and Liam’s support for Trekstock doesn’t go unnoticed either – if you want to support Trekstock, you might want to check out our 1D competition here.
Of course, Niall is no exception. When thinking of Niall’s charity work, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the glorious event that was the charity football match he organised in May 2014 to raise money for Irish Autism Action , Heart and Minds Challenge and the Leicester City Foxes Foundation. But more on that later.
Because yes, that footie match was one of the more exciting episodes of our lives, but our happy-go-lucky Irish boybander has done so much more charity work that deserves to be celebrated. Niall, as well as the rest of the 1D lads, is heavily involved with the Make a Wish Foundation and has met countless terminally ill fans through them over the years. Apart from that, he has been involved in Action1D, Believe in Magic and Comic Relief, to just name a few.
And this is just the part that we know of – it recently came to light that One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson does as much charity work behind the cameras as he does in front of them and we believe for Niall it is no different. Because just like Louis, Niall isn’t one to brag. Both lads gain the most satisfaction from helping others, regardless of who sees.
Niall himself isn’t the only one who enjoys spending buckets of money on loads of charities – he inspired his fans to do the same. Last year, Niall’s fans raised over 10000 dollars for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland through 1Dfansgive, a fan-driven charity organisation that raises money for each of the 1D lads’ birthdays and has raised over $176000 over the past few years.
But let’s get back to that football match, shall we? In May 2014 Niall took on the massive task of organising a charity football match. Fans could buy tickets and the celebs that took part in the match donated their time (and probably some money) free of charge. ‘Team Niall’ battled it out against ‘Team Piers’, with Niall himself and Piers Morgan as the respective managers.
And as if seeing Niall take on the role of football manager wasn’t enough to have your heart bouncing out of your chest with pure joy, his team sure was. Team Niall included, apart from bandmates Harry, Liam and Louis, names as James Corden, Jack Whitehall and Olly Murs.
Needless to say, the charity match was a massive success. Not in the least place because mr. Horan raised a staggering €300000 for charity that day, but also because it blessed us with Harry doing a pirouette mid-game, Harry pantsing Piers Morgan, and one of the greatest Narry-moments of all time.
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of our hearts melting.
We can only hope that Niall will find the time to organise another charity football match somewhere during One Direction’s hiatus and you bet you’ll find us front row when that happens.
And if you can’t keep your money in your pockets in the meantime, consider donating to one of the charities mentioned in this article – you can find a full list of charities 1D has been involved with here.