In 1986, D’Hooghe accompanied the Red Devils to the World Cup as delegation leader. “We reached the semi-finals and wanted to do something symbolically to remember that beautiful moment of Belgian football. I was walking with Jan Ceulemans when we were confronted with street children. They had two choices: beg or steal. Then we knew we had to do something for them,” says D’Hooghe.
Forty years later, the orphanage is still needed. “We have currently opted to take in 12 infants, all of whom are less than two years old. This is in consultation with the youth court of Toluca, which is assisting us in this,” says organizer Carl Dhont. The beach run should therefore become an annual tradition.
Some well-known names, such as former player Ruud Vormer and ex-manager Luc Devroe, were also at the start.
