Football pitch in memory of knife crime victim
Family photographA football pitch to honour the memory of a young player who lost his life to knife crime is set to be built.
The 3G pitch will be created in Gateshead in memory of 14-year-old Tomasz Oleszak following a £868,000 grant from the Football Foundation, a charity backed by the Premier League, the FA and the government.
The teenager, who was murdered in Gateshead in 2022, had played for Gateshead Cleveland Hall Community Association for much of his childhood.
Association leader Andrew Watling said: "The pitch will provide the opportunity for thousands of youngsters to participate in sport over the decades to come."
"The loss of Tomasz hit everyone at our club extremely hard," he said.
Watling said he was delighted the Football Foundation had chosen to support the project, and would be a permanent reminder as to the "horrendous consequences" of knife crime.
Tomasz died a day after being stabbed by another 14-year-old, who was later jailed for his murder.
The investment will allow the association to build a new floodlit 3G pitch in Beacon Lough.
It fields 27 football teams for boys and girls aged between five and 18 years old.
The development will allow it to expand further into disability and walking football, as well as the establishment of a defined and exclusive day of the week for womens' and girls' football.
This will represent a significant improvement on the existing grass pitch, which struggles to manage the amount of usage required in the wet winter months, the association said.
The project has also been supported by additional funding from association reserves.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: "This pitch will stand as a tribute to Tomasz - a young boy who loved his football and his club.
"His loss is still felt deeply in the local community, but it's right that his memory will live on here, in a place that brings people together and helps the next generation grow, on and off the pitch."
