Cove football campus named after two popular players who died from cancer

Two north-east football players who died from cancer have been honoured with a facility in Cove named after them.

Cove Youth FC have named their base at the Gateway Business Park the Chris Niven and Richie Fraser Football Campus.

The pair both joined the club in 1996 and were popular members for many years.

Their families were among those present on Sunday to see the facility being named.

Organiser Donald Smith knew both men well and said they were an “important part” of the club’s first years.

He told The Press and Journal: “Chris Niven and Richie Fraser were involved in the club and played an important part during the very early years in the 90s.

“They both played with us for a number of years because they were local lads.

“The families are also local so everyone had a connection with them – that’s another reason we wanted to dedicate the facility in their name.

“I knew them both very well.

“They were both extremely good footballers and both went on to play it at a high level when they were adults.

“They were the older players and a lot of the kids at the time looked up to the older lads.”

Popular footballers with Cove

Chris died at the age of 30 in 2014 after a battle with ALK lung cancer – which had spread to his liver, spine and brain.

At the time, Kenny Bruce, one of the coaches, said: “Chris was local to Cove, and he was part of the youth setup from almost day one.

“He was popular among the boys.

“I was actually a few years younger than Chris, but everyone knew him really well.”

Riche died aged 36 in 2021 from a rare form of cancer called Ewing sarcoma.

Despite his illness, Richie inspired his family and friends with his determination and positive outlook.

Having come through the youth ranks at Aberdeen and then turned out for Cove Rangers, he spent many years playing for amateur teams in the city including Cove Thistle and Kincorth.

Cove Youth started with one team and only 14 players in 1995 – they now have more than 330 players involved.

As they near their 30th anniversary, they are looking forward to expanding in the future.

Part of this is fundraising with the Ben Bradford BB14 charity where one of its projects is to support the building of a community sports campus, which will include an all-weather football pitch in Cove.

Donald added: “Now we’ve named the facility, the plan is that since we’ve established the BB14 charity, we will work towards getting sufficient funding for building an astro turf football pitch.

“In the long-term, we want to create a campus that can be enjoyed by various people in the community.”