Football greats will take to the pitch in Elgin next month for a charity extravaganza which is being staged in memory of one of the town’s most ardent fans of the game.
Legends including Marco Negri, Tom Boyd, Colin Hendry and Darren Anderton will roll back the years in an effort to score funds for a number of charitable causes.
Among the chief recipients will be groups set up to fight motor neurone disease (MND) – both in honour of former Rangers full-back Fernando Ricksen and Elgin football fanatic Richard “Ricker” McIntosh, who died last Christmas.
Fernando Ricksen, who played for Rangers from 2000 to 2006, is terminally ill with MND, and his battle has prompted fundraising efforts nationwide.
On Saturday, September 19, local fans will be able to mingle with the gathered luminaries during a sportsman’s dinner at Elgin City FC’s Borough Briggs.
The following day a team of Rangers veterans will compete against a “legends 11? selection at the ground for a trophy bearing Mr McIntosh’s name.
The event has been orchestrated by a group of local football supporters who, inspired by both the plight of Ibrox icon Ricksen and the recent death of one of their friends, decided to raise funds to help fight MND.
One of the organisers, Stuart Whyte, said: “We all really wanted to do something, and luckily we know some people with links to Ibrox who were able to help us arrange things.
“Our friend Richard McIntosh, who was known as Ricker, died on Christmas Eve last year, and his wife and children have given us permission to use his name for the trophy.
“Ricker was hugely into football and this is just the sort of tribute he would have wanted.
“We’re really pleased so many well-known players have agreed to take part.”
The Rangers side will feature Marco Negri, Michael Mols, Colin Hendry, and Dave McPherson, with former Scotland goalkeeper Andy Goram in the net.
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Darren Anderton will lead the “Legends 11? opposition team – which boasts Tom Boyd, Bobby Petta and Reggie Blinker among its line-up.
Members of the public will also be able to bid for places on either side.
Tickets for the sportsman’s dinner and the game are available from the 1629 restaurant in Lossiemouth, the Mills Hotel in Buckie, the Cottar Hoose pub in Elgin, the Ugie Hotel in Keith and Fraser Brothers butcher in Forres.