Speaking at the unveiling event, Curtis said: “We all still feel the loss of these two lads in the most tragic circumstances, but we hope that this project has been a tiny bit of positivity and helps remember them at their best. This was a fan-led project, initiated by the Facebook fan-group page ‘Sir Kenneth Dalgliesh Stand’, who asked me to organise things.
“As a fan, it has been an incredible honour to have been asked to be the artist to do the mural. I have tried to involve the fans at every stage; it was important that this was communal. As well as the money raised, which is amazing (thanks to everyone who donated), people have messaged me to say that having the focus of this project and the physical artwork has helped in a small way in the grieving process.”
It now means that more than £250,000 has been raised to date to help fund the grassroots football programme in Jota’s name and run by LFC Foundation. The majority of the funds raised have been from fans paying tribute by having ‘Diogo J. 20’ printed on the back of their shirts in official club stores or through the online store. Others have purchased the special commemorative T-shirts created by LFC Retail.
All profits from both the back-of-shirt printing and the tribute T-shirts go directly to LFC Foundation, to establish and maintain the new grassroots football programme. Further details about the programme will be shared in due course.
Matt Parish, chief executive of LFC Foundation, said: “The way supporters have come together to honour Diogo and Andre has been incredibly touching. Their generosity, combined with Paul’s decision to donate the extra crowdfunded money, have enabled us to create a programme that will have a lasting impact.
“We’re working very hard to get this grassroots football programme in Diogo’s name off the ground and are so thankful to everyone who has helped with a donation of any kind.”
Alongside the grassroots football programme in Jota’s name, the club has also shared details of other lasting tributes.
The thousands of floral tributes left outside Anfield in July have been composted and will be used in flower beds across all club sites – including Anfield, the AXA Training Centre and AXA Melwood Training Centre.
Other items left at the stadium will be recycled by a specialist company and used to create a permanent memorial sculpture, which will become a future focal point of remembrance at Anfield.
A temporary area of reflection remains open at the stadium for those who wish to pay their respects.
