This year’s annual football tournament in memory of Huddersfield Town fan Gavin Greig is to take place at the end of May.
The heart transplant survivor died aged 23 in January 2016 as a result of side effects from the drugs that saved his life as a nine-year-old boy.
Gavin, of Golcar, needed the transplant after contracting cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle.
Amazingly, just four months after undergoing the operation at a hospital in Newcastle, he was back at his desk at Golcar Junior and Infant School.
Tragically one of the side effects was that the anti-rejection drug he had to take for the transplant caused cancer, which led to his death.
Prior to the diagnosis he had had no health complications and was able to enjoy a normal life.
Starting at 11am on Sunday, May 27, the Gavin Greig Memorial Day Football Tournament at Golcar United football pitch will host a 5-a-side tournament. All proceeds will go towards treatment for three-year-old Jorgie-Rae Griffiths, a little girl who is suffering from neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer that affects children.
Sixteen teams of between five and seven players are needed with entry costing £10 per player. Many of Gavin’s friends have already signed up but some spaces are still available.
This year’s event has been made more family-orientated and will include a bouncy castle and rides as well as food, drink, a raffle and a bar for the grown-ups. Music will be provided by DJ Tom Senior.
Organisers have raised around £8,000 from the previous two tournaments and hope to break through the £10,000 barrier this year.
In addition Gavin’s friends Callum Mapplebeck and Eddie Wilson are planning another crazy fundraiser after enduring a chest wax in 2016 and a bushtucker trial in 2017.
To enter a team contact Jonathan Newiss on jnewiss@broadbent.co.uk or Ben Senior on bsenior@skye-direct.com
