Chelsea Foundation provided Charlie Butcher with a once-in-a-lifetime visit into Cobham to experience a day in the life of a football manager, helping his wish come true.

Charlie, who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy, has seen his love for playing video games FIFA and Football Manager grow into a passion for football management and the work that goes on behind the scenes in a Premier League squad.

Upon arrival, Charlie received a full set of training kit with his initials printed on them along with a signed first team shirt.

The day began with Charlie watching men's first team training with an exclusive insight into the team's preparation ahead of the fixture against Leicester City.

Charlie was amazed to see stars such as Raheem Sterling and N'Golo Kante in action, with Charlie claiming Kante to be the best box-to-box midfielder in the world who he often purchases on his virtual managerial modes.


The likes of Kante then met Charlie after training and posed for photos.

Charlie, who is aged 15, said: ‘A box-to-box midfielder is my favourite position and I really rate Kante, he’s the best in the world in that position and it was brilliant to see him train and then meet him after.’

The day then got even better for Charlie who met with Graham Potter and asked him a number of questions about football management, before joining Graham’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Leicester City fixture.

In front of many of the UK’s leading journalists, Charlie had the opportunity to ask Potter a question in the press conference: what he says to motivate the team at half-time.

‘Good question!' Potter responded.

'It depends how the game is going, whether they need a kick up the backside or do they just need information, but essentially it is to try to help them, to work out what we’ve done quite well in the game and what we need to improve.

‘If we can improve, how we can improve, and try and convince them that if we do that, we can win the game. That’s a summary.’


To complete the day, Charlie then met with Chelsea’s co-sporting director Laurence Stewart, with Laurence explaining his role and also revealing a similar love for Football Manager when he was younger.

Charlie said: ‘This was a dream come true, I’ve had an amazing day where I honestly couldn’t pick a favourite part as it was all brilliant!’

Nick Raistrick, who is a volunteer for the Make a Wish Foundation and joined Charlie on his visit, said: ‘It has been a wonderful day and fantastic to see the smile on Charlie’s face, but also his family too. It’s brilliant that Chelsea take the time to give back to their community and we are extremely grateful they have been able to help Charlie’s wish come true.’