An Elgin teenager has arranged a football match in honour of her boyfriend just months after he lost his battle with leukaemia.
Friends, family and former teammates of Keiran MacRonald will take to the pitch at Banks O’ Dee in Aberdeen on June 19, on what would have been the couple’s third anniversary.
Lilian MacDonald, 19, has already used her vocal talent to raise significant sums of money to fight the illness by releasing songs as a tribute to Keiran. Now she wants to tap into one of his passions.
She said: “It was his idea. When he had a break in his treatment two years ago, he really wanted to organise a football match as a nice day out.
“Things happened though and we never got round to doing it. We want to do it now to honour him.
“Football was a massive part of Keiran’s life before he was diagnosed. He was obsessed with it and was always talking about it. He loved it.”
Keiran’s father and friends will take on his former teammates from Westdyke Football Club in the charity match.
Ms MacDonald has already raised thousands of pounds to help fight the illness. The songwriter donated more than £2000 to the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research charity from the proceeds of her touching memorial, Never Be Alone, which was watched over 110,000 times online.
Keiran lost his struggle against cancer in February after fighting the illness for nearly two years. Money from the football match will be donated to Friends of Anchor.
She said: “It was one of those wards that he had his treatment in at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. They were fantastic and the money was always going to go to them.
“We just wanted to keep his name alive and get people together. That is what he wanted to do and it’s nice to fulfil what he had left behind.
“It’s going to be a light-hearted and fun day with a raffle to raise money for charity. It would have been my three-year anniversary with him and it will be nice to be with everyone to share it.”
