Alan Stubbs and Peter Lawwell on cancer support

Hibs head coach Alan Stubbs. Picture: SNS

Supporters United, which premieres on BT Sport 1 on August 7 at 6.30pm, looks at how the support of the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people - CLIC Sargent - is helping cancer patients in Scotland deal with the disease and get the most out of their lives.

It also features two Glasgow teenagers, Caillan and Nicole, who have benefited from charitable support in their own battles against cancer.

Stubbs, who battled cancer twice while at Celtic, revisits Glasgow, recounting his own back story and meeting some of the people to have benefited from CLIC Sargent’s work.

He said: “Some clubs are just football clubs, some clubs are more than that. Celtic comes into “more than that”. It’s not just a football club.

“What cancer can do to you – it can take your confidence away. And what football did is it gave me the confidence and belief that I was normal.”

Supporters United also touches on Celtic FC’s own particular history with cancer and how sport can be a force for good in the toughest circumstances, with former players Stilian Petrov, Stubbs and John Hartson all having been affected by cancer.

In the film, Celtic FC chief executive Peter Lawell says: “There’s probably not many in the world that have been unaffected by cancer but this football club has been severely affected over the years.

“Hopefully what we do here at Celtic is look after our people and hopefully the little bits we can do helps them through that.”

And Stubbs adds: “CLIC Sargent and sport play a huge role in helping children and young people deal with and move on from cancer. When I was going through my cancer battles Celtic were my CLIC Sargent.”

Tracy, a Young Person’s Community Worker from CLIC Sargent in Scotland, explains in the film: “The Supporters Club funding will make a huge difference because sport makes them (young cancer patients) feel good about themselves. It helps them socialise, build up their stamina and motivation.”

Over the past year, BT Sport and The Supporters Club has produced five TV documentaries to showcase its work – most recently Gilberto Silva’s Road to Rio where the former Arsenal star visited the Street Child World Cup to highlight three teams sent by charities backed by The Supporters Club.

The Supporters Club recently revealed that £2.5 million has been raised from BT Sport customers and BT in its first year. This has so far been used to fund 18 sport-inspired community projects – ten in the UK and eight overseas, with over 82,000 people now signed up to the initiative.

• Alan Stubbs was talking on behalf of The Supporters Club, BT Sport’s initiative that aims to build a better world through sport”

‘Supporters United’ focuses on the work of the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people, CLIC Sargent, who are one of the beneficiaries of BT Sport’s The Supporters Club, the broadcaster’s initiative that aims to build a better world through sport. The documentary premieres on Thursday August 7, at 6.30pm on BT Sport 1. The film can be viewed any time from Thursday here >>>.