Initially played in 2000 in memory of Eddie Gregg, a former University footballer and alumnus who sadly died in his 20s from Leukaemia, the tournament has been played every year since and now remembers, mourns, and celebrates Eddie and other teammates who have unfortunately passed since, including Matt Pinnock, Mike Hughes, Daniel Wilkinson, and recently, Tom Rankin.
The event hopes to attract a wide variety of visitors including former professional alumni, Paul McGuinness; Lee Howarth; Rob Matthews, Lee Margerison, and Tom Curtis; authors Seth Burkett & Ben Dobson, several premier league & football league Sports Scientists, former club chairmen David Bayles, Colin Riggs, Steve Vose, Nick Templeton, Mark Wheeler, Lawrence Heard, and a blend of former and current students.
This year’s event is raising money for four charities, including The Willow Foundation, a national charity established in 1999 by LoughboroughFootballAlumni President and Loughborough Sport Hall of Fame member Bob Wilson OBE and his wife Megs as a lasting memorial to their daughter, Anna, who died of cancer aged 31; the Daniel Wilkinson Foundation founded in memory of 2016 graduate Daniel, who passed away aged just 24 after collapsing whilst playing football as well as Mind and Blood Cancer UK.
The LoughboroughFootballAlumni invite you to come along and watch the tournament on the Holywell Astro (next to the University Stadium), and/or have a post tournament drink (location tbc) to watch the FA Cup Final.