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Professional footballers are often criticised for their supposed pampered lifestyles but Everton's Under-23s squad highlighted the plight of the homeless by staging an overnight sleepout under the stars in sub zero temperatures at Goodison Park.

The talk before Friday night's sleepout was whether this would be made in to an annual event but 12 hours and over £7,000 raised later, you'd find it tough to argue why it shouldn't be.

Everton in the Community have, quite rightly, long been applauded for the work that they put in to help vulnerable people across Merseyside and this event again proves exactly why they should be held up as an example to the rest of the Premier League.

The evening went off without a hitch and provided the exact experience that it needed to - a challenging one.

David Unsworth understood immediately how important a project such as this one is - and that's why he offered to get his Everton U23 squad and staff involved.

He said: "It was about two weeks ago [that I told the players] and I think they thought that I was joking at first! But once I told the why we were doing it and potentially how much money we could raise from it, they all bought in to it.

"It's a great project and something that I strongly believe in. Nobody should be sleeping rough in Liverpool let alone anywhere else.

"To be able to raise awareness and raise loads of money to be able to help projects like this - it just felt like the right thing to do."

Participants - 50 Blues supporters and 35 of the U23 squad and backroom staff - had to endure sub-zero temperatures for as much as seven hours throughout the night, trying to get as much sleep as they could in the Park End stand.

Seeing groups of people dotted about an otherwise deserted Goodison Park stand is a sight you'd never experience in any other circumstance.

Lit only by the temporary fixtures on the pitch itself, participants tried to rest in any way they could - lying either on the plastic Park End seats or on the concrete ground in between them.

Either way, there was no escaping the cold.

The temperature quickly dropped below zero - and became even worse at around 3am when a freezing fog started to drift over the stadium.

It's easy to lose the novelty of sleeping at Goodison Park when you've got your head buried in a sleeping bag, trying to conserve as much heat as possible.

Whilst it was a quiet night - it was clear that a good few people were getting no sleep at all thanks to that cold.

However, this is just a taster of what some experience every night in Liverpool.

And, at the end of it all - the bacon sandwiches were accompanied by the news that the project had already raised £7,000 with online donations - not yet counting offline donations and sponsorship forms.

That's an incredible achievement - and it's no surprise that Fundraising Manager Carena Duffy wants to turn this in to an annual event off the back of this success.

"This is something different, something unique," she said.



"With the need to support homeless projects, what better way to use this venue and this opportunity?

"We've got around 60 active projects and a lot of them are targeted at people who are under-privileged and in need of help.

"Fingers crossed this is going to be an annual event. Hopefully with word of mouth and with further promotion next year it's going to be even bigger and better.

Afterwards, you do find yourself leaving with mixed feelings.

The event in itself was a triumph - organised and executed to perfection.

All credit needs to go to those involved with the club and with Everton in the Community for making the event run so smoothly and to create a truly engaging experience between fans and Blues staff.

But, you also leave drained. The sleepout itself is a tough task, and probably makes for one of the most uncomfortable nights you'll have in your life.

But, that's exactly the point.

We had the advantage of multiple layers, hot tea and coffee when required, a roof somewhat over our heads and we were safe in the knowledge that we'd only have to experience one night.

The most important people, the people who this event was set up to help, don't get those luxuries.

You leave with a new perspective on what vulnerable individuals have to endure every day - albeit having experienced a vastly watered-down version of their day-to-day lives.

If this is to turn in to an annual event, then you can bet the turnout will be even greater next year after such a successful sleepout this time around.

And, you can sign me up again next year, too.

Friday night was a memorable, humbling experience that I would love to do again.