Friends and teammates of the late footballer Adam Tennant will hold a match in his memory to mark the first anniversary of his death next weekend.

Adam, a father of three and a long-time Spa Athletic player, collapsed and died just six minutes into the match between Spa Athletic Reserves and Kirk Deighton Reserves 12 months ago. 

As a tribute to the former Ashville College prefect, Spa Athletic will be playing a memorial match against Kirk Deighton next Sunday, November 9, at 2pm at Station View, home of Harrogate Railway. 

Up to 60 past and present players from both side will take part in the game to remember the popular Adam, who was a husband to Amanda and father to sons Sam, Charlie and Max. 

Adam, who played for Spa Athletic for 20 years until his death at Kinghall Moor, aged 41, last October, was a pillar of the community, as well as a partner of a chartered accountancy firm and a member of the board of governors for his old school. 

Manager of Spa Athletics' second XI Steve Kilroy said the organisers were hoping to raise a lot of money for Cardiac Risk in the Young in Adam's memory. 

He said: "I was in charge of the second team the day Adam died, and to recover from losing a player and friend, as a football team, and put it behind you is extremely difficult. 

"You just don't expect it to happen.  It certainly puts the game of football into perspective and for a long time I know some players found it difficult to come to terms with wanting to play football again, but knowing Adam he would certainly have wanted us to continue as a club with or without him. 

"It has taken the players a long time to get over the loss of Adam and he will always be missed. 

"Adam cared a lot about the players at the club and he was always trying to take us forward both on and off the field - nobody ever had a bad word to say about him. 

"And let's not forget he was also a good centre half - tall, strong and very, very quick.  Even the quickest forwards struggled to beat him for pace. 

"We think this match would be a fitting tribute and we hope to play the Adam Tennant Memorial Match on an annual basis against Kirk Deighton each year, as they were Spa Athletics opponents on that fateful day. 

Entry will be £2 for adults and free for children and OAP's,.  A raffle will also take place on the day and refreshments will be on sale.  Both the Spa Athletic and Kirk Deighton players will be donating match fees to Cardiac Risk in the Young.

For further details or to make a donation to the Cardiac Risk, in the Young, contact Shaun Gill on 07983 600489 or Steve Kilroy on 07905 231251.