A TRIBUTE match has taken place in Bradford in memory of nine-year-old footballer Jordan Banks, who died tragically last Tuesday when he was struck by lightning.

Thornton United Storm Under-11s played Baildon Trinity Dynamos on Sunday, with both teams paying tribute to Jordan before the match with a one minute applause around the centre circle.

Throughout the game, both sides had a red football sticker on their shirts in memory of Jordan.

Jordan was at football training in Blackpool last week when the freak incident occurred, and tragically passed away as a result of his injuries.

Tributes poured in from around the world to remember and reflect on the life of Jordan, and these two Bradford sides wanted to play their own part in that.

Ray Varga, who is a coach at Thornton United, said: “It was myself and my wife’s idea to put the sticker on to the shirt.

“My colleague Richard, who is also a coach at Thornton, agreed with Baildon’s coaches to do a one minute applause for Jordan.

“We would like to thank Baildon Trinity Dynamos as well, who were really supportive and engaging with the idea of paying our respects to Jordan.

“It shows that everyone can come together to show their support.

“The response from the players and parents was very good to the idea; they agreed to let their children participate in the one minute applause

“Safeguarding is paramount at our club and we are thankful that the parents and children all wanted to take part in paying tribute to Jordan.”

Varga went on to say: “The people in the local community in Baildon where we were playing were pleased to see what we were doing.

“So far we haven’t had a response back from Jordan’s family but we just want them to know that we were devastated to hear this tragic bit of news and we wanted to pay our respects in some way.

“It was sad to hear the news of Jordan’s death.

“We have a lot of boys and girls at Thornton United who love grassroots football and it’s not nice to hear tragic incidents occurring, especially to another player.”