Dungannon Swifts will be well represented in a special Charity Fundraiser at Solitude this month when stars of the past and present clash for The Liam Fleming Testimonial Match.
The 30-year-old, who boasts a strike against the Swifts among his modest career goals tally, will celebrate 11 years service with the north Belfast club when his Cliftonville XI side tackle an Irish League Legends team on Sunday, July 24 (3pm).
Darren Murphy and Rodney McAree will both be in action and Fleming, who will be using the occasion to raise funds for charity, would be delighted to see as many Dungannon fans there as possible.
“We wanted to stage a match which would appeal to supporters from right across the Irish League spectrum,” he explained.
“The chance to see some of their old favourites up against legends from other clubs isn’t something that happens every day, so it would be great if we could get a bumper crowd at Solitude to roar them on.
“I have been overwhelmed by the response from players keen to get involved and I can tell that, from looking down the squad lists, this is going to be more than just your standard match – there are a few pantomime villains in there as well!”
The likes of Glenn Ferguson, Jim Cleary, Harry McCourt, John Devine, Stephen Small, Liam Beckett, Gerard McMahon, Stephen McBride, Mickey Keenan, Pat McGibbon and plenty more besides will be donning their boots again in a match which will carry a charitable element, with Fleming keen to boost the coffers of a very worthy cause.
Established earlier this year by Cliftonville Coach Kyle Spiers, The Libbie Trust is named after Kyle’s daughter, who suffers from Dravet Syndrome – a rare condition which affects almost every aspect of a child’s life, including cognitive development, mobility, speech and language development and behaviour.
Fleming adds: “This match is about more than just celebrating my Testimonial and, though it will be a proud day for me, I’ll take just as much satisfaction in handing over a cheque to The Libbie Trust – and the more fans who come out to enjoy the day, the more money we’ll be able to raise.”
Full match details are now available on the Cliftonville website.