Edinburgh swimmer and campaigner Archie Goodburn to deliver match ball at Scotland v Australia
Archie said the honour meant ‘the absolute world’ to him
Edinburgh-born swimmer and brain cancer research campaigner Archie Goodburn will deliver the match ball for Scotland’s Nations Championship match against Australia next month.
The Commonwealth Games star was diagnosed with three oligodendroglioma, a rare type of brain tumour which can affect the brain and spinal cord, when he was just 22 years old.
He has since used his platform to call for more support and research funding, meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper in recent weeks to push for more action on brain tumours.
The 25-year-old, who played rugby while he was pupil at Stewart’s Melville College, will be a guest of honour at Murrayfield for the Wallabies visit on Sunday November 15.
Supporters will have the chance to donate to two charities leading the fight to help those with brain cancer – Brain Tumour Research and the Astro Brain Tumour Fund.
“This means the absolute world to me,” he said. “The most people I have ever ‘performed’ in front of before, was an audience of 10,000 on the Castle esplanade for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
“I was 12 and I sang a solo – What a wonderful world! So, this is an incredible opportunity to deliver the match ball in front of 60,000 plus people.
“Some amazing people have done this job for many other good causes. This cause is so important to my heart.
“Brain cancer is the biggest cancer killer of those aged under-40 in the UK and, for some 25 years, it has received less than 2 per cent of the national cancer budget.
“Things are beginning to move, and this kind of initiative can make a difference.”
Following the meeting at Number 10, the Government announced that a review into brain cancer progress, the first of its kind since 2018, would be undertaken by Professor Anthony Chalmers, with promises to get patients on new treatments earlier.
It was also announced that a national brain cancer lead would be established following Goodburn’s emotional plea for one on BBC Breakfast in August.
Mr Burnham also said he has asked the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to complete its review into rules for medicines which treat rare conditions in quicker timeframe of two year instead of three.
Mr Burnham described Archie as an “inspiration to us all”, saying he was “right” progress hadn’t been good enough.