THE annual SGT Matthew Locke MG charity football event will be held at Bellingen Park on Saturday 22 March.

The match honours the memory and sacrifice of Bellingen’s Matthew Locke, who joined the Army at the age of 17 and deployed to Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Locke was awarded the Medal for Gallantry in displaying courage of the highest order during action in hazardous circumstances.

He was fatally wounded by Taliban insurgents in 2007 while serving with the Special Air Service Regiment in Uruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan.

Money raised through the annual charity football event is used to advocate for veterans on the Mid North Coast as well as providing schools and education to disadvantaged children in remote Timor Leste.

This year’s match-ups see the Australian Army Thunder take on the Sawtell Panthers at Bellingen Park, while the Bellingen Magpies face off against the Brisbane Jackals.

The Jackals, a young veterans’ team from Queensland, recently returned from the United States after competing in the Vegas 9s Rugby League Festival.

The Australian Army Band Newcastle will perform at the matches and again the next day at C.ex Club Coffs Harbour.

The main games will start after lunch with several preliminary matches scheduled earlier.

Gates will open around 11am.