A YOUNG soccer fan who "eats, sleeps and breathes" Blackburn Rovers will miss out on the Worthington Cup Final -- because his mum has booked a special birthday treat.

Four-year-old Darwen schoolboy Brayden Shaw, who lives in Starkie Street, Blackburn, holds a season ticket but will not make the trip to watch Rovers in the final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium because he has a special birthday party at Ewood Park.

Mum Carol Halligan said today: "There isn't the money to do both."

Brayden, who attends Holy Trinity School, Darwen, and 16 of his friends, will go on a grand tour of Ewood Park accompanied by the club's popular mascots Roar and Rowena on Tuesday February 26 as a special treat. But it means the young fan will miss out on watching his heroes take on Spurs in Cardiff two days earlier on Sunday, February 24.

Brayden's three-year-old sister Kia was diagnosed with sclerosis of the liver when she was 17 months old.

Carol , 25, full time carer to Kia, said it was a particularly difficult time for the family after Kia was first diagnosed.

She said: "Brayden and his dad have both got season tickets but we just can't afford to do both things.

"The birthday party will cost around £100 and we have recently had to hire a car to take Kia to Newcastle for tests."

Carol said: "Since Brayden was 12 months old he has been able to drop kick a football but we have to buy proper leather ones now because plastic ones caused too much damage."

The football fanatic dreams of playing with his hero -- Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel -- but is impatient because he will only play football at school when he is in year four.

Carol said: "He already has to play with boys older than him because of the power of his tackles!"