Thurso charity football match organisers are blown away by £30,000 total
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Organisers of a showpiece charity football match in Thurso say they are "buzzing" after raising just over £30,000 for good causes in Caithness.
A team of Rangers Legends travelled north to take on a Thurso 999 Services select at the Dammies on June 11, followed by a sportsman's dinner in the town's Royal British Legion.
Brian Davidson, who put together the organising committee along with David Bain and Karl Drummond, said their initial target was simply to surpass the £10,000 raised at a game between Thurso firefighters and RNLI members in 2019.
But the total came to £30,007.93 after expenses to cover costs such as transport, accommodation, stationery and posters.
Some of the money will be used to provide four 24-hour accessible defibrillators in Thurso and the surrounding area, while charitable organisations in the county are being invited to apply for a share of the rest of the cash.
“We were just hoping to get anything over the £10,000 that we got a couple of years ago," Brian said.
"This has blown it completely out of the water. The response from the community was brilliant and the guys on our committee are buzzing."
Brian said they would be keen to hear from “organisations that are looking for a little boost or a little help”, adding: “We want to keep it within the county."
Groups wishing to be considered for a donation are asked to write within the next month to the committee treasurer, David Bain, 3A College Place, Thurso KW14 7QH. The deadline is July 31.
Brian explained: “Once that date passes then we'll sit down and we'll get a night in the Legion and get all our cheques made up for handing over.”
Rangers Legends featured famous names such as Gordon Durie, Gordon Smith, Charlie Miller, Bob Malcolm, Derek Ferguson, Grégory Vignal, John MacDonald, Alex Rae and Ian Ferguson.
Ian Durrant was in charge of the former Ibrox stars, who won the match 2-1 in front of a bumper crowd with a variety of stalls set up for the day.
Planning for the event had started two years ago but it was delayed by Covid.
Main sponsors were Eric Gunn Driver Training, CS Drilling Services and Autoquip Motors, while Robbie Fraser was match-ball sponsor. A barrel lid and stave made by Calum Macleod was presented to the Rangers Legends.
Brian added that the ex-Rangers players had been very supportive.
“They've been really good," he said. "They are delighted to hear what we've raised.”
