A three-day five-a-side record-setting football match is set to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society this weekend

The Irish Cancer Society is one of three charities set to benefit this weekend from a brilliant fundraising initiative by food services company Sodexo Ireland.

A 16 strong team from Sodexo Ireland is aiming to raise €20,000 in total this weekend to share between the Irish Cancer Society, Barnardos and St. Vincent de Paul by smashing the Guinness World Record for the longest five-a-side football game.

The gruelling, 55-hour, non-stop five-a-side takes place in St. Mary’s Community College, Borris Road, Portlaoise from the morning of Friday 21 June to the afternoon of Sunday 23 June. The event is open to the public from 10am to 5pm each day.

Everyone is welcome to come along and support the team and their charities by way of entering some competitions while they are there, including ‘guess the number of goals scored’ or making a donation, etc.   Those wishing to donate online can do so on this MyCharity page.

They aim to beat the current Guinness World Record of 43 hours clocked last year in the UK. But organisers Owen Keating, Andrew McGinley and Dermot Moloney from Sodexo Ireland have their eye on the unofficial world record of 52 hours, which was also set last year.

Owen said, "We want to have our game recognised by Guinness World Records (GWR) and unify both titles in the process but getting recognition from GWR is going to be the hardest part as the rules are very strict. We have to provide a great deal of support material, including detailed witness and steward rosters, as well as filming the entire event from start to finish. However, we are determined to meet all the GWR criteria and it will be a fantastic achievement if we can pull it off!"

Owen pointed out that there are restrictions on the numbers of players that can part in the game.  He said, “Only sixteen players are allowed take part and only three players from each team can rest at any one time. Each player needs to be on the pitch for at least 35 hours out of the 55 so it’s going to be a real test of endurance and will."

Sodexo is one of Ireland’s largest food and facilities management providers, employing 1,800 people in 180 locations nationwide.