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A SUBSTANTIAL cash boost from Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League has revived the oft-forgotten connection between Benni McCarthy and the Crusaders amateur soccer club in Cape Town.

Fortune smiled on Crusaders earlier this month when their bank balance swelled by R410 000, courtesy of Blackburn Rovers, whom McCarthy over the past two seasons has turned into a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.

The goodwill between Blackburn and Crusaders was negotiated by Peter Auf van Heyde, a South African-born soccer scribe living in Ireland.

Auf van Heyde writes for the German Press Agency and an American internet site. He has a keen interest in African soccer and focuses extensively on the Afri?can Cup of Nations (Afcon) cham?pionship.

Auf van Heyde became aware that McCarthy played for Crusaders' juniors through a People's Post report on McCar?thy's return to the Bafana Bafana side that faced Zambia in an Afcon qualifier at Newlands in September, 2007.

The report prompted Auf van Heyde to liaise with FIFA as well as the Blackburn club to reward Crusaders in some way for putting McCarthy on the road to stardom.

Auf van Heyde is mindful that FIFA encourages the big names in world soccer to render some form of support to the minnow clubs that nurture their star players.

This newspaper's preview on the eve of the Afcon clash focused mainly on McCarthy's successful three-year spell with Crusaders' juniors in the Cape District Football Association competitions at Wynberg in the mid-1990s.

The report further related McCarthy's rapid progress after joining the old Se?ven Stars semi-pro club in Cape Town at age 16.

All Crusaders received in return from Stars were two bags of soccer kit. "Benni is worth millions now," said Harold Stuurman, Crusaders? acting chairperson at the time, while recalling the then-ta?lented teenager's soccer prowess in the junior leagues, prior to the Afcon match.

McCarthy has gone on to represent Ajax Amsterdam, Celta Viga, FC Porto and Blackburn Rovers in Europe.

The generosity shown by Blackburn has aroused enthusiasm at the Crusa?ders club, which faces a continual battle to sustain several junior teams.

The financial windfall can be regarded as a worthy reward for the efforts of Crusaders' stalwart members like Dr Christian Reddy, Abie Jacobs, Ron Abrahams, Ernest Hendricks and Stuurman. They have often steered the club through troubled waters during its 65-year history.

Reddy is a founder member and life president, while Jacobs is the other surviving founder member.

Reddy is a minister at the Good Shepherd Anglican Church in Grassy Park and a former principal at the English Church (EC) School in Grassy Park, from where Crusaders has drawn most of its junior players over the years.

The other life members, Abrahams and Hendricks, have been cornerstones of the Grassy Park-based club for 62 years and 57 years respectively, while Stuurman has worn the green and gold with pride for over 40 years.

Auf van Heyde liaised with Crusaders' stalwart members Abrahams and Hendricks in recent months and the good news from Blackburn was conveyed to members at the annual meeting earlier in February.

The Crusaders junior teams stand to benefit most from the funding, while the club is also planning to develop a permanent training venue in Grassy Park, after struggling to secure an adequate ve?nue in recent years.

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