HEARTS legend John Robertson is to play a pivotal role in a football match featuring the "world's oldest" team.
The former striker will manage a team representing McCrae's Battalion – the trust that preserves the memory of Hearts' players contribution to the First World War – against the recently reformed Foot Ball Club of Edinburgh.
It will be the first c
ompetitive match the club has played since football enthusiast Kenny Cameron decided to resurrect it nearly 200 years after it was originally formed by city law student John Hope.
Tomorrow's Tynecastle clash, which other unnamed Hearts legends are expected to attend, will be free to the public, with fans instead expected to make a donation to Radio Forth's Cash for Kids appeal.
The Foot Ball Club of Edinburgh, formed this year, has already staged some training sessions and has had the old kits specially remade by manufacturers Umbro.
The team from McCrae's Battalion will play in replica 1916 Hearts strips and the two sides will compete for the PMR Leisure Cup, which will be presented to the winners by Lord Provost George Grubb.
Mr Cameron, 27, said the event would be a milestone in the re-creation of the club, which has signed up to play in next season's Edinburgh and District Sunday Amateur League.
He said: "It's very exciting and Hearts have been terrific in letting us stage it at Tynecastle.
"Hopefully we'll get a few hundred people through the gates for it. People can just show up and it's free to get in. It will be a good day out and a chance to see John Robertson as well.
"It's raising money for a good cause and everyone who is playing has made some kind of donation to the appeal."
The establishment of the club has caused some controversy south of the Border, where representatives from Sheffield FC, which has run continuously since 1857, disputed the legitimacy of the Foot Ball Club's claim.
The original club was set up in the Dalry area in 1824 and staged weekly training sessions. The team was comprised mainly of New Town lawyers, doctors and accountants. The new club is to train at Spartans' new £3 million training complex, and has a first team, youth teams and also female players.
The club has received widespread support locally and nationally, most recently from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who wrote Mr Cameron a letter of support.
He wrote: "I would like to wish the club good luck for their forthcoming match against the McCrae's Battalion Trust.
"I am sure it will be a great day and a great family atmosphere." Tomorrow's game will kick-off at 2pm.
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www.footballclubofedinburgh.co.uk•
www.heartsgreatwarmemorial.org.uk
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www.cashforkids.org.ukThe full article contains 473 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
