A remarkable footballing achievement – 15 games in 15 days in 15 different counties

In all, more than 70 players from the city area turned out for a Friends Fighting Cancer XI in a gruelling schedule that started in Preston and finished at Havant & Waterlooville’s Westleigh Park.

Two of them - FFC founder Ray Ogilvie and Ryan Goodall - played in all 15 games, which were all over the usual 90-minute length.

The number 15 was chosen as FFC are this year celebrating their 15th anniversary.

Five years previously, to mark the charity’s 10th birthday, Ogilvie and Lee Jones had organised 10 games in 10 days in 10 different counties.

This time Shaun Thurgood - once a professional with Wimbledon in the late 1990s before moving into non-league football - took on the mantle of turning a logistical headache into reality.

Thurgood first got involved with the annual FFC tournament three years ago, and later signed Ogilvie up for his North End Cosmos vets team.

Ogilvie said: ‘I was speaking to Shaun one evening about the 10 games in 10 days and could we do 15 in 15 for the 15th anniversary.

‘A few vodkas later, and Shaun had agreed to organise it.

‘I don’t know how he did it - booking pitches, finding teams, booking hotels, getting refs, linos.

‘It was much bigger this year than when myself and Lee did it, it was much more organised.

‘There were 15 different WhatsApp groups, one for each of the games. I was a member of them all!

‘We had to wash 19 football kits in 15 days as we lent some of the teams we played one of our kits.’

Thurgood told The News: ‘It took a lot of careful planning. I probably started planning it almost a year ago.

‘I approached some old friends, some old teams.

‘I made sure we only booked 3G pitches, I couldn’t take the risk of any of the games being rained off.

‘Some of us took a Friday and Monday off work, and we started with Preston in Lancashire on the Friday, Leeds in Yorkshire on the Saturday, Birmingham in the West Midlands on the Sunday, and Essex on the Monday.’

The opposition for the Essex-based game was a Wimbledon Vets squad containing many of the players Thurgood used to play with during his time at the Dons.

There followed games in West Sussex, Berkshire, Middlesex, Somerset, Glamorgan, East Sussex, Dorset, Wiltshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire before the finale in Hampshire last Friday.

In the last game, two FFC XIs played against each other.

The idea behind the 15 games in 15 days itinerary wasn’t so much a fundraising exercise, more a chance to spread the FFC word and raise awareness of the charity.

‘It was a chance to make new contacts,’ said Thurgood. ‘Wimbledon Vets are interested in coming down for a game, the West London Rams team as well.

‘The guys in Lewes were really helpful, so we could look at taking an annual FFC tournament into Sussex.’

Ogilvie added: ‘Though it wasn’t about the fundraising, we still managed to raise about £5,000 which was a pure bonus.

‘A lot of the teams we played just kept chucking us money.’

The FFC charity - who have a sports memorabilia and shirts shop in Cosham High Street - give grants to local families who have been affected by cancer.

Ogilvie set up FFC in 2008. Originally named Football For Cancer, it was changed last year to Friends Fighting Cancer to highlight how much the organisation - which gained charity status in 2015 - has grown from just being about raising money through one sport.

Since its inception, FFC – which covers the Bournemouth and Southampton areas as well as Portsmouth - have raised over £1m and regularly hand out grants for a variety of reasons.

In 2009, they raised over £14,000 for Marie Curie Cancer care and the following year a cheque for £32,000 was presented to the Rowans Hospice.

In 2011 they raised £22,000 for the Petersfield-based Rosemary Foundation and 12 months later £27,000 for the Tom Prince Trust - named in memory of a Pompey-supporting teenager.

Macmillan Cancer Support received £33,000 in 2013 and the following year a £50,000 donation was presented to children's charity Naomi House.

After that, FFC became a charity in their own right.

In 2017, Ogilvie opened the shop in Cosham selling pre-loved sportswear and equipment.

To be eligible for a FFC grant, people must live in the PO, SO or BH postcode regions, and have done so for over five years.