A charity football match held in memory of a much-loved dad and husband raised more than £1,000 for the Mind charity.

An inquest earlier this month heard that Gillingham man Brian Long had been suffering from anxiety prior to taking his own life in November last year, and his family are now urging others to seek help if they are suffering mentally.

Daughter Sophie Long, who organised Sunday’s football match at Star Meadow in Darland Avenue, together with brother Rob and mum Julie, said the event was a chance to spread the word about the Mind charity.

“My dad was suffering from mental illness before we lost him,” she said. “We wanted to raise money for the Mind charity but also wanted to raise awareness for other guys - it’s to say ‘if you’re not having a good day it’s fine, we’ll talk about it.’

“Mind is all about raising awareness and letting people know that if they want to ring them they can - it’s ok not to be ok.”
The football match itself was between two teams of family friends - Dial Rovers and Tangmere Rovers - named after family homes in Dial Road and Tangmere Close in Gillingham.

Dial Rovers won a close match 5-4, while man of the match went to Jeremy Smith, mainly due to a 30-yard screamer into the top corner which stunned the crowd, the players, and maybe even himself.

Sophie said 146 tickets were sold, which together with a cup cake sale and raffle raised £1,035.

She thanked all businesses which donated raffle prizes - including Brown’s Florist in Gillingham run by Tony and Vicki Brown, who donated a bouquet of flowers - and thanked everyone who turned up to make the match a special occasion.

“It was so good,” she added. “The atmosphere was amazing.”

If you need support, you can contact the Samaritans 24-hours a day on 116 123 for free.

Details about the mental health charity Mind can be found here.

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