News: MrQ Centre Spot Challenge Winner Donates Money To Charity

A Hornets supporter of 30 years has revealed his delight at being able to donate the £1,000 he won through the MrQ Centre Spot Challenge to a hugely important children's charity.

Andrew Gould was one of three fans to scoop the four-figure sum during Watford's 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Vicarage Road on April 27, alongside Jessica Adams and Lewis Twydle.

As it was the last home game of the season, the club's principal partner MrQ offered an extra incentive for players taking part in the half-time game.

The top prize of £10,000 for kicking a football directly onto the centre spot from the penalty spot remained in place, but this time a new banner area was added – offering the £1,000 prize if you could land on it.

Although no player managed to do so, the generosity of MrQ Founder and CEO Savvas Fellas meant that all three took home the money.

Gould is gifting his prize to WellChild, a national charity for children with complex medical needs.

Despite missing the centre spot and the banner, his effort did finish inside the centre circle.

It was his first time on the Vicarage Road pitch since the celebrations which followed Troy Deeney's dramatic play-off winner against Leicester City in 2013 – and he wore the same shirt he had put on for that famous game.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," he said. "It's a really special gesture by MrQ and the club.

"It means a lot to me personally as someone who's supported the club for 30 years, but also it will mean a lot to the charity.

"It was great fun. The guys all put everyone at ease very well and I got to wave up to my family.

"I had a couple of practice kicks in the morning when taking my son's Under-9s football team.

"I probably should have given it a bit of a harder hit but at least I ended up in the centre circle! You are more worried about trying not to fall over than you are hitting the centre spot."

Gould has previously cycled 2,000 miles around the UK and run the London Marathon for WellChild, as well as taking part in desert ultra-marathons.

"I got to meet a number of the children who were supported by the charity and also the nurses who work for them, and I was completely hooked in terms of the commitment that these guys show and I wanted to do more," he said.

"It's incomprehensible to think of the impact having a child with that number of care needs has on the family.

"It's huge, it's completely transformative. I've had good friends who have gone through it and they all say it's something that never leaves you.

"It's relentless and the need for the support WellChild provides is huge and growing at the moment as well."

Andrew sits in the Sir Elton John Stand at Vicarage Road and is looking forward to Tom Cleverley's first full season as Head Coach.

"The first time I started going regularly and with a Season Ticket was the 1999 play-off run," he said.

"It's from that era that I started supporting the club and it's been a pretty good journey since then."

To support Andrew's fundraising efforts for WellChild, click HERE.

Keep an eye out for more half-time challenges from MrQ next season, with further details to follow in due course.