Several former Irish Premier League stars have teamed up to organize a charity football match in memory of Jerry Thompson.
Cliftonville and Linfield will wrap up in a 35-second friendly match at Solitude on Sunday, April 10.
Jerry will remember the game, who died suddenly in December 2019, when he was only 24 years old.
The former Rangers defender Carrick was a very famous figure in domestic football and many of the well-known names in the game bear his memory in the boots.
The game has already confirmed Linfield icons William Murphy, Stephen Douglas, Alan Blaine, Evan Spaul, Chris Morgan, Andy Hunter, Damien Curran and Mark Picking, as for the Reds, there will be Mark Smith, Barry Johnston, Declan Hara and Ryan. Kathleen, Vincent Sweeney and Stephen Small – emphasized more.
The former Linfield Picking winger helps organize the event, and all proceeds go to Jerry’s younger son, Thiago.
Picking told Belfast Live: “Jerry was playing Irish football and had a great relationship with it, and it was a huge shock when he died.
“We originally planned to organize a charity match after his death, but then Covid hit and we couldn’t do it.
“At the time, I reached out to Gerard Lowell, the former president of Cliftonville, to unite the two communities in a charitable game, but when the pandemic broke out, the idea lost some power.
“Then we played a few weeks ago and I spoke to Mark Smith about how we play with Cliftonville and how we can raise money for a friend of Jerry.
“We thought it would be great to support Jerry’s family and the proceeds from the game would be donated to his son. We will set up a charity site and also play with two legends, one from Cliftonville and one from Linfield.
“Getting into the game today will be free, but there will be bundle packs on site, so we hope to save some money.
“But we will continue to attract funding for a while to be able to raise as much money as possible.”
Peking added: “We also want to raise awareness of mental health issues and suicide because there are so many young people struggling now.
“We want to share the message that there is always someone who talks this way. This is an important part of why we are organizing this football match.”
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Source: Belfastlive
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