Football match held in memory of gambling addict

The family and friends of a man who took his own life after suffering from a gambling addiction have held a charity football match in his memory.

Jack Ritchie, 24, from Sheffield, died while working as an English teacher in Hanoi in November 2017.

The William Ramsay Cup charity football tournament - named after Jack's middle names - was held at the U-Mix Centre in Sheffield on Sunday.

It was set up in 2017 by Jack's friend Doug Daly and has been held every year since Jack died to raise money for Gambling with Lives.

Daly said he would go to betting shops with Jack when they were young, but did not realise how much of a problem his gambling had become until after he died.

"We all grew up playing football together and we all watch football regularly and it was only after Jack died that me and my mate were sat watching a game and we just saw hundreds of gambling adverts in the stadium.

"And they had been there all along and we just hadn't noticed but now, with the work Gambling with Lives and others are doing, it's bringing it to attention," he said.

An inquest into Jack's death found he had spent years battling his addiction, which started when he began visiting betting shops during his school lunch break to use fixed-odds betting terminals.

Jack's parents Charles and Liz Ritchie were at the tournament and said it was an "amazing occasion".

"It's his friends coming together to remember him and celebrate his life," said Charles.

"Jack was an incredibly popular young man. He was bright, intelligent. He was not someone who was troubled.

"Gambling was his only problem and, when he died, it was a shock to all these guys who are here today."

Andy Burnham showed support for the charity Gambling with Lives while Manchester mayor, and Liz said she was hopeful that, as prime minister, he could do more to help gambling addicts.

"This is a public health crisis – people are dying every day. We've had three deaths that we know of in the last month. There will have been more," she said.

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