East Kilbride team raises £5,000 in memory of teammate for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland

An East Kilbride community football club has raised £5,000 for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) in memory of a much-loved teammate who sadly died of a stroke.

East Kilbride YM Football Fans In Training (EKYM FFIT FC) organised a charity football tournament to honour former player John Latham, bringing together 12 teams, local businesses and families from across the community earlier in the summer.

The tournament, which also included family activities and a raffle, raised a total of £5,000.

CHSS’s logo with also appear on the new team strips as a further tribute to John and an opportunity to raise awareness of the charity’s work.

Matthew, player and treasurer at EKYM FFIT FC, said: “The team was originally set up to help people who were overweight or struggling with their mental health get back into football and enjoy being active again.

“One of our players was John Latham. He’d been with us for around a year when he sadly had a stroke and passed away. We wanted to do something in his memory and support a cause that was closely connected to what happened to him.

“We held this tournament in honour of John and raised money for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. John’s wife, Suzanne, also donated £500 towards the team to help us get new strips, and we’d like Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to be on them. We wanted to help raise awareness of the charity and remember John at the same time.”

More than 100 players took part in the tournament, with fundraising boosted through raffle prizes donated by local businesses and supporters and a collection for CHSS at John’s funeral.

Matthew added: “There was a lot of support for the day and we’re really grateful to everyone who showed up, contributed to the day and everyone who helped.

“Our club secretary Kristina Loughran organised the tournament, Suzanne Latham, John’s wife, helped Kristina and donated an Xbox for our raffle which raised £1,000 and has put £500 into the club for new kits which will have CHSS’s logo on it. John Murphy bought the trophy for the day too. It was a great day and we hope to have the tournament again either annually or biannually.

” Local businesses donated raffle prizes, we had family activities for children and people were incredibly generous with their donations.

“The support from the community was amazing. It was very much a team effort. The whole club got involved and there were people working hard behind the scenes to organise the teams, the fundraising and the event itself. It showed just how much John meant to everyone.

“The most important thing is keeping John’s memory alive and continuing to support Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.”

Louise MacLeod, Community, Events and Corporate Fundraiser at CHSS, said: “We want to thank EKYM FFIT FC for their extremely generous donation to CHSS.

“The day was a fitting way to honour John and the support from the teams and local businesses was phenomenal.

“The money raised helps CHSS to support the 1 in 5 people across Scotland living with a chest, heart, stroke condition and Long Covid to live fuller lives. Fundraising is a vital part of what we do at CHSS and it allows us to provide the right support, in the right place at the right time for people.”

If you’re living with the effects of a chest, heart or stroke condition or Long Covid and are looking for advice and information, please contact Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s Advice Line on 0808 801 0899. You can also text ADVICE to 66777 or email adviceline@chss.org.uk.