On Sunday 29 September, hundreds of people will travel to Forthbank Stadium, home of Stirling Albion Football Club for a soccer aid charity match in memory of Murray Dowey, three days after what would have been his 17th birthday.
Murray, who was a passionate supporter of the Binos, tragically passed away last December after being blackmailed online through a sextortion scam.
The match is being organised by a group of local volunteers, led by Murray’s PE teacher Emma Blackstock with funds raised going towards mental health charities Back Onside, the Scott Martin Foundation, and running a mental health programme at the club.
Emma provided an insight into the preparation involved in arranging an event on such a colossal scale.
She said: “The planning has grown arms and legs from that original meeting where we sat down and came up with the idea. Club Chaplain of Stirling Albion Duncan Strathdee still has a good relationship with the Dowey family and he contacted them to see whether they would be happy to organise this.
“Ever since we’ve had it greenlit, the response from people I have spoken to, whether that be at Albion or the local Dunblane/wider Stirling community is they would want to be involved and the endless hours they have put into pulling this together has been amazing, so hopefully it will be a success.”
On the impact Murray’s passing has had on the community, Emma continued: “Although it is very important that we are supporting youth mental health, this is slightly different in that he was the victim of sextortion and this was an organised online group that targeted him.
“Murray was such a kind, lovely boy, who had amazing family and friends who always supported him. This is not what you would normally hear about mental health where you would ask somebody if they’re okay – and that is also important, but the feeling in Murray’s case is that this could happen to anyone.
“So, in regards to the community and how tragic his story is, people want to raise awareness and remember him, but also spread the word.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the event with over £2,900 raised at less than a week to go and Emma expressed how humbling the support has been while touching on the other fundraising efforts:
“It absolutely has. The family originally had their own page which brought in around £28,000 after six weeks or so, which shows again how many people have supported this cause.
“I then set up my own account labelled ‘Murrays Match’ for those who cannot physically attend the match, so they can donate that way too. We also have a raffle which has raised just under £3,000 with around 80 prize donations.”
Numerous companies have also donated with the biggest coming from one of the team kits.
Emma explained: “One of the teams will wear Stirling Albion’s first team kit while the other will be Dunblane High School which has been made by VSN and will have Dowey on the back of the shirt and Murrays Match on the front. The cost of the whole kit would have been around £750 and it has been donated free of charge.
“Everyone has clearly been impacted by Murray’s story and the support has been phenomenal.”
The calibre of those who are participating in the match includes Stirling Albion captain Ross McGeachie, Dundee United midfielder Lewis O’Donnell as well as Scottish Rugby internationals such as scrum-half George Horne.
Emma commented on what that means but also revealed its challenges: “To attract so much profile to the game has helped hugely and the fact that Murray was a massive Binos fan, to have Ross, Kyle Banner and Cameron McKinley involved, I think would have had a huge impact for him.
“Actually one of the biggest challenges has been getting a balance in the teams. My fiancée is George Horne, who mentioned to the rugby boys, so we ended up having to cap the numbers because they were so keen and I wanted an equal split between Murray’s family and friends and those with a higher profile.
“They [the professionals] have been sharing the event on social media which has a far greater reach and furthers the cause, so I am so grateful to all of them for taking up their time.”
On the charities that have been selected, Emma further emphasised on the Dowey family’s involvement in this event.
She said: “They were handpicked by the family because it was important to them that the charities benefitting from the funds were local. Scott Martin’s own story was similar to Murray’s, while Back Onside has its football-specific connections with Albion and the club is using the match to create their own services to support mental health, particularly in teenage boys and young men.”
Emma concluded by admitting how she is feeling ahead of this weekend: “It has been a lot of early mornings, late nights and thousands of emails, so I am slightly anxious, but I am trying to remind myself that even if it goes horribly wrong, we have talked so much about Murray, we have already raised thousands in raising awareness and we have done some good.”
Tickets for Murrays Match are priced at £7 for adults, £5 for under 18s and £3 for under 12s and details can be found at: https://stirlingalbionfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/murrays_match
If you would like to make a donation, then please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/all-donations-are-in-memory-of-murray-dowey
Images courtesy of Stirling Albion
