As the nation cheers on the Lionesses in the Women’s Euros final on Sunday, a brain tumour patient will be recovering from a 24-hour fundraiser inspired by his favourite sport.
At 12:30pm tomorrow (Saturday 30th July), the whistle will blow for kick off at Sam Suriakumar’s 24-hour kickathon at Sutton High School. More than 100 players will take part in a continuous five-a-side football match using rolling substitutes for 24 hours, with two hours dedicated to women’s-only matches and one hour to a children’s game.
It’s all to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research after Sam was diagnosed with the disease. The father-of-two was diagnosed with a low-grade glioma after suffering a cluster of grand mal seizures whilst on the tube on his way home from work in February 2020.
Sam, who plays football twice a week, said: “I’ve taken a bit of time out over the last couple of years but I wanted to get back on it and raise funds whilst I’m feeling fit and able to.
“Doing something like this has always been in the back of my head and doing it for 24 hours will allow me to bring lots of different people together to raise awareness of brain tumours, which is something I’ve wanted to do since I got diagnosed with one.”
Sam has already beaten his fundraising target, raising enough to sponsor two days of research at one of our Centres of Excellence. To support his fundraising, visit his JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/24hourkickathon
Related reading:
- Sam’s story
- Brain tumour dad thanks Tube staff for saving his life
- Avaana receives CBBC Operation Ouch award for saving dad’s life
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