Hibs declare Ron Gordon 24-Hour Challenge a huge success as key numbers revealed

Hibs have thanked their fans for helping to make the inaugural Ron Gordon 24-Hour Challenge a resounding success – with around £30,000 raised for the club’s Community Foundation.

A total of 441 players – the youngest just two years old – participated in the day and night event at the Hibs training centre, starting at 3pm on Saturday and finishing at the same time the following day, with members of the club’s first-team squad providing support from the touchlines.

The money raised will be used by the Hibernian Community Foundation to support outreach programmes, including the provision of three free lunches a week for locals at Easter Road for 12 months.

Club owners Kit and Ian Gordon kicked off the match, which was played continuously on the East Mains AstroTurf, with manager Lee Johnson, first-team coaching staff members Jamie McAllister and David Gray, and under-18s head coach Darren McGregor all taking part alongside Hibs fans and key figures within the Community Foundation. The Whites won a closely-fought encounter by six goals, defeating the Greens by 119 goals to 113 – meaning a total of 232 goals were scored, working out at around 9.7 goals scored for each hour of the challenge.

A general view of the Ron Gordon 24-Hour Challenge at the Hibs training centre. Picture: Mark Scates/SNS Group

Hibs Chief Executive Ben Kensell, who also played his part on the pitch, said: “It was a truly fantastic event which was played in great spirit for a brilliant cause. The whole challenge perfectly captured everything that personified Ron Gordon; camaraderie, innovation and a whole lot of fun. Our Foundation have done an excellent job of pulling this all together and we would like to thank everyone who helped organise, volunteer and support this event.”

Chair of the Community Foundation Mags McPherson added: “We would like to thank everyone who participated in the challenge and to all those that have donated too. This event has been extremely rewarding and a perfect way to celebrate Ron’s legacy and his impact on the club. It was great to see so many Hibs fans support the challenge and connect with the club in a unique way – going forward, this is something we would like to make an annual event.”