Sixth Reamonn Gormley Festival ready to kick off
Thousands of players expected to help raise money
Over 1000 young football players will score for charity this weekend when the annual Reamonn Gormley Memorial Soccer Festival kicks off.
Clubs from across the country will descend on the Hamilton Palace Grounds and the Jock Stein Centre.
The three-day event is in memory of Reamonn, who was just 19 when he was murdered in an attempted street robbery while walking home from Blantyre’s Parkville Hotel in February 2011.
Organised by Blantyre Soccer Academy, it raises money for the Good Child Foundation in Thailand, a charity for children with Down’s syndrome.
Reamonn had spent some time volunteering there and the team behind the festival hope to smash last year’s total of £8000.
Academy chairman Jimmy Whelan said: “We have run the Reamonn Gormley Memorial Soccer Festival every year since Reamonn’s death, and it raises a large sum of money.
“We now also organise the annual Reamonn Gormley Memorial Sportsman’s Dinner. We hope the sun shines brightly this weekend and everyone comes out in force to support this fantastic festival in memory of Reamonn.”
This will be the sixth annual festival and it begins with hundreds of the academy’s young players taking part in a sponsored walk around Strathclyde Park tomorrow (Friday, June 2).
Then on Saturday and Sunday over 1000 footballers from across the country will be at the Hamilton Palace Grounds and the Jock Stein Centre for funfours, five-, seven- or 11-a-side football, plus a coaches’ game and charity matches. Each player will receive a medal at the end of the day.
With over £8000 being raised last year, funds were distributed to a number of good causes.
Some money went to the family of Blantyre boy Ben Mason, who was born with cerebral palsy and requires life-changing therapy.
The Good Child Foundation were able to upgrade their sports ground and erect a new stand at their school. And cash donated to one of the academy’s own disability squad players, Adam Donachie, was used to purchase a new purpose-built wheelchair that allowed him to compete with the Scotland basketball team.
Money raised from the 2017 festival will also support The Haven charity, which has centres in Blantyre, Wishaw and Forth supporting people with life-limiting illnesses.