A former professional footballer who played for England is to appear at a ball in aid of the Monitors4Kids initiative.

Gary Mabbutt MBE, who won 16 caps for England, will be guest speaker at the charity ball which is raising awareness and money to have finger prick testing replaced with painless monitors for diabetic children.

The Monitors4Kids event will be held at Woodbourne House, Douglas, on Friday November 9.

During his football career, Gary made more than 750 appearances playing for Bristol Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur.

A type 1 diabetic sufferer himself, he has been honoured for his work with diabetic youngsters.

Gary’s appearance is being sponsored by the sportswear company Nike.

The Manx Diabetic Group has been backing the parent-led Monitors4Kids campaign which officially launched in July.

It aims to raise £60,000 a year for the next two years to fund blood glucose sensors for type 1 children in the Isle of Man.

Guests at the launch event included Manx cyclist Sam Brand, who has type 1 diabetes, and Kirsty Bates, a territory manager at Dexcom - a company that manufactures a brand of continuous glucose monitor.

Jo Wilkinson, of Monitors4Kids, said: ’This will be a fantastic fundraiser for our campaign and we’re so pleased that Gary is able to come and support us. He’s a real inspiration for children with type 1 diabetes, showing them that having this condition needn’t limit their ambitions.’

There are a limited number of tickets for the ball still available.

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