The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
£10,000 raised in memory of Fife youngster.
Kennoway Soccer Sevens player Owen died weeks after cancer diagnosis
A host of footballing stars have joined together to raise more than £10,000 in memory of a young footballer who tragically passed away aged just 11.
In October last year, Kennoway Soccer Sevens and the local Fife community were left stunned when 11-year-old Owen Nisbet was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma.
This rare form of cancer usually has high survival rates but sadly Owen passed away just five weeks after his diagnosis.
Thanks to support from Liverpool FC’s James Milner and clubs such as Hibs, Raith Rovers and East Fife, the community was able to raise a staggering £10,200 which will go to the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC).
The charity supported Owen and his family throughout his illness and Kennoway Soccer Sevens coach Rab Lindsay was determined to raise funds for them.
Rab said: “When we first found out that Owen was ill, we started fundraising to give the family a much-needed holiday.
“We got in touch with the Hibs team, who have always been a great support to us, through their Fife scout.
“They got to work straight away, organising a trip for the family.
“So we turned our fundraising efforts towards arranging the end-of-season dance to double-up as a fundraising event for Owen and his family, to take some strain off them during this hard time.”
Owen died unexpectedly just weeks before the event took place.
Rab added: “We had no intention of stopping our fundraising efforts there.
“After hearing how ECHC had cared for Owen and his family, we turned our attention to raising money for the charity.
“Raith Rovers’ over 35s team, with the support of East Fife FC, helped us raise £3,000 – they played us in a charity game at New Bayview with Paul McManus on their team.
“I’m proud to say that we won the game, with Owen’s dad David scoring the winning goal.
“Paul McManus even donated his Championship winning medal and Liverpool’s James Milner sent us a signed shirt to be auctioned.
“The football club led the fundraising activity, and it wasn’t long before everyone we knew started joining in.
“We wanted to give back to the charity that had looked after our wee Owen, and made him feel comfortable in his final days.” csmith@thecourier.co.uk
The death of popular young footballer Owen Nisbet, who passed away just five weeks after a cancer diagnosis, was devastating. Among those distraught were his young team-mates from Kennoway Soccer Sevens.
They determined to raise money following Owen’s diagnosis – and continued the good work after his untimely death.
Theirs has been a fitting tribute.