A group of Edinburgh footballers have broken the world record for the longest 11 a side game.
The match, in commemoration of young Falkirk player Craig Gowans began at 1pm on Saturday and ended at 10pm on Wednesday, a total of 105 hours, beating the previous record by 3 hours. The final score was 774-707.
Eoghan Molloy, a member of the Craig Gowans Memorial Fund organising committee, said: “The whole experience has been an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
“There were a lot of mixed emotions as the final whistle blew – from relief and tiredness to joy, happiness and everything in between. It was amazing to hear that final whistle and to finish what we set to achieve.
“I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of the supporters and volunteers who came down to support us across the four days.
“Playing throughout the night was by far the most difficult part of the challenge, but when the sun came up and the crowd returned this completely lifted our spirits. Being able to finish the match is all down to these supporters.”
Roslyn Neely, chief executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: “All of the participants of the Craig Gowans Memorial Fund have done a tremendous job in completely this outstanding challenge and we feel extremely privileged to be the beneficiary of their efforts. ”
The money raised will be used to fund enhancements to the new Sick Kids hospital at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France, specifically a state-of-the-art Snoezelen room in Craig’s name providing a relaxing and stimulating space for children with sensory impairments.
Doug Henderson, chairman of Falkirk FC, said: “I’d like to congratulate the team for their great efforts over a monumental 105 hours, and to thank them also for getting together to deliver this wonderful tribute to Craig Gowans.
“Craig was an upstanding young man with a great future ahead of him, he had enormous promise as a footballer and was a big part of our Falkirk family. We all miss him so much.”
The Craig Gowans Memorial Fund for The Sick Kids Friends Foundation has so far raised incredible £80,000.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
