Ex-Celtic stars to turn out for Thurso charity football match
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Plans are under way for a fundraising football match this summer between Thurso's emergency services and a team of ex-Celtic stars.
The showpiece game is scheduled for Saturday, July 22, to be followed by a sportsman's dinner in the town's Royal British Legion Scotland club.
It follows on from last summer's charity match between Thurso 999 Services and Rangers Legends which raised just over £30,000.
Some of that money has been used to provide 24-hour accessible defibrillators in Thurso and the surrounding area, and these will be installed in the coming weeks. Charitable organisations in the county were invited to apply for a share of the rest of the cash and a total of £18,200 was handed over, with 26 groups receiving cheques for £700 each.
Sir George's Park – better known as the Dammies – will again be the venue for the 2023 match, with a squad consisting of current and former personnel from the local emergency services taking on former professionals including ex-Scotland forward Brian McClair, who played for Manchester United after leaving Celtic, Albanian defender Rudi Vata and Dutch winger Bobby Petta.
The 11-strong organising committee has secured sponsorship from Dunnett's Transport for the 999 team, while Celtic Legends will be sponsored by I D Swanson Ltd Joiner Contractor.
There are a few spaces left for individual player sponsors, while sponsors are still being sought for the match programme and for the sportsman's dinner.
A donation has come from the Arnold Clark Community Fund.
Brian Davidson, one of the organisers, said: "In 2014, Joe Miller started up the Celtic Former Players Association so he does a lot of work with ex-professionals.
"I was in contact with Joe and obviously he will be playing. We've got Brian McClair, Rudi Vata, Simon Donnelly and Bobby Petta, and I'm waiting on a few more confirmations.
"Hopefully it'll be as successful as last year. It's not about Celtic fans or Rangers fans, it's about the community. Hopefully everybody gets together and comes along to support the teams."
Sponsorship queries should go to Brian Davidson (07415 888236) or David Bain (07810 120859), via the Thurso 999 Services Facebook page or by email at thurso999charityfootie@outlook.com
It is hoped that tickets will be available by next month. They will be on sale at the Legion in Thurso and at Sinclair Butchers in Wick.
Money raised from the match will again be used for charitable purposes, the exact nature of which will be decided later.
The game will have a 2.30pm kick-off.
Rangers Legends won last year's match 2-1 in front of a bumper crowd with a variety of stalls set up for the day.
