Friends and family of much loved footballer gather to remember Michael Palmer - and raise funds for a vital defibrillator in his memory

Friends and family of a much loved footballer who collapsed and died on the pitch came together for an emotional charity match to raise funds for defibrillators to save lives in his memory.

Michael Palmer was aged just 23 when he collapsed as he was playing for Crowland Reserves in February last year.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of the medical teams, he sadly died.

But his loved ones have vowed Michael will never be forgotten – and have worked hard to leave a legacy behind, with life saving defibrillators provided for dozens of teams thanks to their fundraising efforts.

The latest charity match took place on Sunday (June 2), which would have been Michael’s 25th birthday.

Olivia Fox, from the organising team, said: “The match was held on what would’ve been Michael’s 25th birthday. We find it the most fitting way to remember him as he absolutely loved playing football.

"We aim to have this an annual match to ensure Michael’s memory never fades. He was the life and soul of the party, loved by everyone around him and generally made the world a better place. For that we aim to always celebrate his life and continue making the world a better place by providing defibrillators to grassroots football teams.

“The charity match consists of 2 teams, full of his friends and family and it fundraises for MP99, a charity set up in Michael’s memory, that aims to provide portable, pitchside defibrillators to all grassroots football teams.

"This is vital work that means if a defibrillator is desperately needed to save a life during a football match, there is one readily available to use, without having to travel or call 999 to retrieve a code.

"This means fast and effective life saving work can commence straight away, hopefully preventing anyone else losing their life on a football pitch.”

The weekend’s match raised an incredible £1,240 and the just giving page raised £960 meaning a total of £2,200 was raised this year.

In total, more than £5,000 has been raised over the two charity matches that have been held for Michael since his passing.

MP99 have so far provided 33 teams with the life saving devices, and with the money raised this weekend, another 3 will be bought and handed out.

To raise the money, a tombola was held, alongside a raffle that included signed boots from Romeo Beckham, Ex Chelsea star Koulibali and two 2023 signed Soccer Aid shirts.

Following his death, a number of tributes were paid to Michael, including from his father, Mike, who said: “Michael’s loss will be forever felt, as the hurt fades into scars, his light will shine the brightest in our galaxy of stars. And though we will move forward, We should take solace in this pain, that Michael will never be forgotten, and we will all remember his name.”

His best friend, Harry Grigas added: “I feel like we’ve lost one of the funniest and kindest people in the world. He would always go above and beyond to make people close to him happy. He had so much potential in this world to be even greater than he was.”