Mat Ryan to donate AU$500 for every Premier League save in wake of Australian bushfires

Brighton’s Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan has vowed to donate AU$500 (£262/€308) for every save made in the Premier League this weekend towards bushfire relief efforts Down Under. 

Ryan’s country has been in the grips of a bushfire crisis for weeks now with a number of lives lost and surrounding wildlife left devastated.  Having grown up in Sydney and now a regular for the Socceroos, Ryan is eager to offer his support and will be hoping he and other Premier League keepers can pull off a number of saves over the next few days.

 The Seagulls’ number one will be hoping his fellow shot-stoppers can step up this weekend as he raises money for an important cause.

In New South Wales, the state neighboring Victoria, ecologists estimate that as many as half a billion animals may have been affected by the fires, with millions potentially killed. That figure includes birds, reptiles, and mammals, except bats. It also excludes insects and frogs — meaning the true number is likely much higher.

There are fears that some species may not recover, entering a terminal decline, such is the degree to which the fires have ravaged their populations.