Fatally-injured goalkeeper: Aylesbury football club dedicates match to player

A football club is to dedicate a game to a young goalkeeper who lost his life during an under-15s match a year ago.

Luca Campanaro, 14, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was injured in a collision while playing for Bedgrove Dynamos on 9 December. He died a day later.

He will be remembered when Aylesbury Vale Dynamos' first team play Harefield United on 14 December.

Luca's father, Americo, described the dedication as "a lovely gesture".

The teenager, described as a "gentle giant", was injured during a match at Harefield United in Hillingdon, west London.

He was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital and died on Monday, 10 December.

Club chairman Mike Borrett said his teammates "think of Luca every single weekend".

"It was difficult for the club after his death, we didn't know how to deal with it," he said.

"Safety obviously became paramount - we've been looking into better safety measures, even headgear for young goalkeepers."

Bedgrove Dynamos has since merged with Aylesbury Vale to become Aylesbury Vale Dynamos and has more than 500 youngsters.

Match day will include a minute's applause for Luca, and his fellow youth players will watch the senior team in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division.

The first team will wear a commemorative strip which will be auctioned after the match. Money raised will go towards the London Air Ambulance, the charity chosen by the Campanaro family for its efforts on the day of the accident.

A club trophy has also been named after the teenager.

"This is such a lovely gesture, it's nice the club is remembering Luca like this," Mr Campanaro said.

"We couldn't have wished for a better son," he added. "Luca will never be forgotten at the club, football was his life."

In April, a memorial plaque was unveiled in the Campanaros' home village of Castelluccio Valmaggiore, southern Italy, with the local training pitch officially named after him.