A MAN from Redditch is holding a charity football match for beloved referee Mac Mclaren after he received a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Damien Perry first met Mac in 2012 when he joined the football team Damien was managing at the time. Mac had just left the Royal Navy where he served for 12 years.
The pair became firm friends as the season went on and Mac went on to become captain of the team and then took up coaching.
Mac was involved with the juniors and adult teams, as well as winning trophies with Redditch Borough Mens 1st team, and Red Lions.
And he coached the ladies at Inkberrow and Alvechurch and was a referee for the Worcestershire FA.
In December 2022, Mac was diagnosed with Melanoma and had surgery in March, 2023, before being given the all-clear.
Then, in June 2023, he was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma, which was again operated on. In December of that year he was informed he had beaten cancer for the second time in 12 months.
The following year Mac got back into refereeing local football and was able to celebrate his daughter Kayleigh’s 18th birthday and watch his club, Birmingham City, play as often as he could.
However, the cancer returned in December last year, and after a difficult 2025, he was told on October 8 the treatment was no longer working.
Mac said: “Prognosis based on my last set of scans was five to six months, however with my feedback during the meeting that was changed to one possibly two months.
“This is due to the aggressive nature and amount of growths found in the last five weeks.
“Not the best of news but something I have been preparing for over the last few months.
“Thankfully my wife Lisa and mum Bridget Anderson were with me when receiving the news.”
After he told friends and family, Damien reached out to a few former players and teammates of Mac and asked if they could get together for one last time to show their support.
Damien said: “I then reached out to Redditch Borough Football Club and Julian Workman to discuss the possibility of a match so we can all get together for this and, in doing so, raise money to support Mac and his family.”
They now have two teams together to play, Redditch Borough Coaches versus NWCFC and, through the generosity of company GSP Construction, they have been able to get a team strip for the game.
The match is set to take place next Friday, October 24, at Redditch Borough Football Club.
Gates will open around 6pm with the match kicking off at 7pm.
Entry is free, but Damien is encouraging people to make a donation to the GoFundMe page.
Damien added: “We are inviting everyone along to come and celebrate Mac’s work – not only as a veteran but as a volunteer in the local football scene, where we hope he will be able to blow his whistle for one last time and can be celebrated the way he should be.”
Damien hopes this will then become an annual event which will see Redditch Borough take on a local team and play for the Mac Mclaren Trophy.
Visit: gofund.me/69e22711e to donate to the fundraising page.
