Family organise tournament in memory of Polmont's Euan Anderson, who died aged 25 playing football

Euan Anderson was only 25 when he collapsed on July 5, 2022, while playing five-a-side football with friends at the Little Kerse pitches in Polmont. Despite valiant efforts from those present, including members of the Galaxy Foundation who used a defibrillator in an attempt to resuscitate him, he was sadly pronounced dead.

Following a post mortem, his heartbroken family were told that Euan from Polmont, who was born on Christmas Day 1996, had a rare genetic heart condition that had not previously been discovered.

Sister Emily Thomson, 33, of Polmont, said: “We were told he had ARVC – arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy – which is a genetic condition and very hard to detect. It’s when fatty tissue replaces normal heart muscle and can then cause damage, leading to arrhythmia. Sadly, this is what happened to Euan and his heart stopped when he was playing football.

"Around 18 months before he passed away he had experienced palpitations while playing football and had gone to see his GP. He was given tests and put on a heart monitor but nothing came back. We now know that there are other tests out there which could have have raised awareness of the condition.”

Former Graeme High pupil Euan, who worked for Elmwood Projects in Glasgow, was a huge football fan, who was a regular at Falkirk FC games, as well as loving to play the sport himself.

Emily added: “He was well-known at Falkirk Stadium and at the Black Bull in Polmont. There were over 600 people at his funeral which showed how much he was loved. We asked people to donate to the British Heart Foundation in his memory as there are so many other rare heart conditions that most of us aren’t aware of.”

His family, including mum Karen Hind of Polmont, and elder sister Kirstie Anderson, 48, of Grangemouth, wanted to do more to raise awareness of heart conditions and hold an event in Euan’s memory. They have organised a football tournament to take place at Little Kerse from noon on Sunday, July 9 with the winning team being presented with the Anderson Cup. His loved ones hope this will become an annual event.

“It’s going to include everything that Euan loved with football and live music from local singers and bands,” said Emily. “There will also be fun entertainment for children with a bouncy castle and face painting. We’ve got all our teams lined up and we hope that lots of people will come along to show their support.

"All the money raised will be going to the British Heart Foundationn as well as the Galaxy Foundation to help them buy more defibrillators. It will also let them continue to expand and develop the facilities for our local community. We’ve also got a company which produces diagnostic kits for heart condition to show people what resources are out there.”