Graham McGuigan : Memorial match will remember Newark firefighter
A memorial match has been described as the best way of remembering a Newark firefighter who loved football.
The Graham McGuigan Memorial Shield will see Graham's Blue Watch ‘brothers’ play against coaches and parents from Warriors FC, the youth side where Graham was a coach.
Graham, a married father-of-three who served Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service for 19 years, died this month at the age of 44.
Players from both teams have received their football kits today - blue shirts for Blue Watch and red shirts for Warriors.
The 30 football kits were paid for by an old friend of Graham's, Neil Bray, and all have McGuigan's name on the back.
The memorial game has been organised by Matt Ridyard, a coach at Warriors FC, and Daz Charters, who served at Newark Fire Station with Graham for 20 years.
Matt said the game was the perfect way of carrying on Graham's legacy.
"There were three loves in Graham's life - his family, football and the fire brigade - so it's a good thing to carry on in his name," he said.
"I think the game will be a good celebration of his life."
'A great way of remembering him'
Daz, a crew manager at Newark Fire Station, said Graham once represented Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue at football and loved sport.
"It will be a great day, a great memorial and a great way of remembering him," he said.
The memorial match will take place at Flowserve Sports and Social Club at Lowfields, Balderton, on Sunday, January 21 with a 1.30pm kick-off, with the bar opening at noon.
There will be a raffle and the money raised will go to the Fire Fighters Charity, of which Graham was a big supporter, and the Children's Bereavement Centre.
Raffle prizes donated so far include a voucher for the No Angel boutique in Newark, vouchers for The Real Burger Company and The Real Fish and Chip Company, a Nottingham Forest home shirt, a voucher for Newark Super Bowl, five family swim passes for Active4Today and a private one-to-one training session at Suggy's Gym with kickboxer Bailey Sugden, among many others.
