A charity football match is being held this weekend in memory of a 14-year-old boy who died after a suspected stabbing.

Tomasz Oleszak was fatally wounded during an incident near Whitehills Nature Park, on Springwell Estate, in Gateshead on the evening of Monday, October 3.

He died from the injuries he suffered in hospital early the following morning and a 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder.

A keen footballer, the Tomasz Oleszak Memorial Football Match is being held at Gateshead Stadium on Sunday.

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The Northern Echo: Tomasz Oleszak Tomasz Oleszak (Image: Contributor)

It is being staged by Cleveland Hall FC, the club which Tomasz played for, and an exhibition match will take place between his former teammates.

Other members of the club will also be involved with the event providing entertainment at half time, acting as ball boys throughout the game and being mascots for the match.

The match has been arranged not only to remember Tomasz and help raise funds for his family but also to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime to try to prevent anyone else having to experience a similar tragedy.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, who will be attending, said: “What happened to Tomasz is every parent’s nightmare and my thoughts remain with his incredibly brave family.

"While I know nothing can bring Tomasz back, I hope his parents can take comfort in the great outpouring of love from the local community, his teammates and everyone coming together in his memory to show loud and clear that we have had enough.

"We’ll keep fighting the fight against knife crime and focusing on what we can do as a society, to make sure young people don't carry knives because it’s simply not OK.

"As a region we have had our share of horrific cases – every one of them, a tragic reminder that we must keep doing all we can to educate and change behaviours, in the hope of preventing the same suffering from happening again.”

Cleveland Hall FC have arranged the match with Gateshead Council, the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, Gateshead Football Club and the Durham FA.

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Deputy Mayor of Gateshead, Councillor Robert Waugh, who will also be attending the match said: “This promises to be a very emotional day for everyone involved as Tomasz’s death has had a profound impact on not only those who knew him but the wider Gateshead community.

“It’s really important that people have this opportunity to come together and remember Tomasz doing something he loved to do with his friends and teammates.

“However, there is also an important message that we need to remember - everyone has a right to feel safe in their local community.

“It’s crucial that we keep talking about the dangers of knife crime to raise awareness of how devastating it can be and try to prevent a tragedy such as this happening again.”

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