I-League-winning goalkeeper Ubaid CK of Gokulam Kerala FC has
joined his state’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as he put his
league-winning jersey up for auction on Thursday (May 20).
The auction of Ubaid’s memorable jersey
raised over Rs 33,000, and the I-League winning goalkeeper is set to direct
those funds to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.
The Kerala Government has made the vaccine
free for everyone in the state, and Ubaid, the good Samaritan, feels that the
citizens who are in a position to help the government in its vaccination
endeavours, should do so.
While the decision to auction off his
I-League winning jersey is for a good cause, the decision itself was not an
easy one for the 31-year-old, who has been involved in a few title chases in
the previous seasons.
“This I-League title was a historic one
(for the state of Kerala). I have always dreamt of winning the title. Being a
Malayali and winning it for a club from my state means a lot to me,” explained
Ubaid. “So this jersey was also quite special to me, almost like a piece of
heart.”
“I thought about hanging it in my house as
a sovereign. But then some of my friends approached me with this idea. I
thought that it would be put to better use this way. So I decided to auction it,”
continued Ubaid.
“The main aim is to garner more support
for the COVID treatment from the people who can donate money,” Ubaid said to the-aiff.com. “As a
result, we are seeing that almost everyone who is able to donate some money is
contributing heavily to the CM’s Relief Fund.”
“These are difficult times, and we can
only overcome this situation by helping each other. I urge everyone that is
able to help others, to go ahead and do it,” he said.
