The career of legendary All White Steve Sumner is set to be celebrated with a memorial dinner in Christchurch that will also serve to raise funds for the Canterbury football community and the fight against prostate cancer.

Sumner sadly passed away in early 2017 after a long and brave battle with prostate cancer and devoted much energy in his final months to helping raise awareness of the disease that ultimately claimed his remarkable life.

That trademark fighting spirit and legacy will live on through the efforts of the Centre Circle, which Sumner played a key role in setting up back in 1999.

Including other former All Whites such as Bobby Almond and Alan Stroud, the Centre Circle serves to raise funds for football in the Canterbury region and is putting on the Steve Sumner Memorial Dinner, which will take place on Saturday 31 August at the Christchurch Casino.

One of Sumner’s final wishes was for the Centre Circle – which had gone into hiatus in 2004 – to again play a key role in Canterbury football, making the upcoming dinner a fitting memorial.

“The Centre Circle came about from a discussion between Ken Billot and Steve at the 1997 National Secondary Schools tournament in Nelson so it is entirely appropriate that we are recognising and remembering Steve,” says Almond, who joined Sumner in the ground-breaking 1982 All Whites squad that competed at the FIFA World Cup in Spain.

“He was the driving force behind the success of the original Centre Circle in the late 1990s and is the reason the Centre Circle is up and running again. He and the football community are the focus of what we do now,” he adds.

“This is the only dinner we will have in his name but he won’t be forgotten by us, we will always remember him. He was a great footballer and a good mate.”

Steve Sumner in action on the road to the 1982 World Cup (Photosport)

The MC for the evening will be media personality Miles Davis and includes a three-course dinner, wine on table plus cash bar. Live and silent auctions featuring some fabulous sporting memorabilia and prizes will also be held to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

Speakers will share their memories of Sumner throughout the evening, supplemented by video and slideshow material, while a pair of special guests will appear via Skype.

During an illustrious international career that included 105 appearances and 27 goals for the All Whites, Sumner earned the nickname Captain Fantastic so it is appropriate to follow the speeches and anecdotes with Skype sessions featuring two other inspirational captains – former All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen and Tottenham Hotspur legend Steve Perryman.

Steve Sumner Memorial Dinner
Sixty6 Peterborough
Christchurch Casino
Saturday 31 August, 6.30pm
Tickets $120 per head or $1200 for table of 10

Contacts for tickets and further information:

Bobby Almond almond@xnet.co.nz 0274 429 309
Peter Phelan p.phelan@xtra.co.nz 021 0240 2685
Norm Withers normwithers@xtra.co.nz 0272 244 766

Article added: Wednesday 07 August 2019