Football fans are being given a chance to test their skills against an Ipswich Town legends team at a special fundraising fixture.

West Suffolk Hospital Charity has teamed up with Ipswich Town Football Club to give devotees of the game an opportunity to play for the hospital against a team of former Portman Road favourites in May.

Each player, who must be over the age of 16 and will need to pay £100 for one of 17 spots in the squad, while a further two places on the legends team will be auctioned later this month.

All of the money raised from the event, which takes place on Sunday, May 18 at Bury Town Football Club’s ground at Ram Meadow, will be split between the hospital’s EADT-backed Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign and the ITFC academy. Bury Town Football Club will benefit from food and bar sales on the day.

Dave Gooderham, fundraising manager at the hospital, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Ipswich Town to offer football fans a unique chance to line up against their heroes during this special charity football match. You could be trying to outwit Simon Milton or set up John Wark while also raising vital funds for charity – it really is an excellent opportunity which is too good to be missed.

“Anyone who doesn’t fancy pulling on their boots on the day will be more than welcome to come along and watch the teams in action while supporting some fantastic local causes at the same time.”

Simon Milton, academy sponsorship manager, said several formerplayers had already shown an interest and were keen to get involved in what would be a “fantastic occasion”.

Places on the hospital’s Forget-Me-Not FC will be available on a first- come, first-served basis from 9am on Monday, March 17. To book a place, call the hospital fundraising team on 01284 713794 from that date.

The auction for the two spaces on the Ipswich Town Legends team will run between 9am on March 24 and 5pm on March 28. Bidding for each spot starts at £200, and anyone who would like to bid can email dave.gooderham@wsh.nhs.uk once the auction begins.

Tickets for the game, which kicks off at 3pm, will be available on the day, priced £10 for adults and £5 for children.

An auction, run by Edward Crichton from Bury-based Lacy Scott and Knight, will also take place after the match.

In addition to individual donations already received on the Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign JustGiving page – www.justgiving.com/forgetmenotcampaign – the Suffolk West NHS Retirement Fellowship donated £30 for the appeal on Monday.

For more on the campaign, click here