Tribute gives others life

Hills football clubs are ­invited to apply for one of 21 defibrillators, which have been bought after a massive community fundraiser.

L to R, Robby Mansour and Alex Cauchi pictured at Greystanes today to promote the "Marc Arcuri Cup" named in honor of Robby's cousin that dies on the soccer pitch last year whilst playing. The charity cup aims to raise money to buy defribulators for local soccer clubs.

Hills football clubs are ­invited to apply for one of 21 defibrillators, which have been bought after a community fundraiser raised tens of thousands of dollars.

The 2015 Marc Arcuri Cup, held at Greystanes in October, attracted 350 players and raised $40,000.

The Marc Arcuri Cup began in 2014 in honour of the 15-year-old Austral FC footballer, who died from a suspected cardiac arrest during a game in July 2014 despite receiving CPR.

The cup was set up by Marc’s cousin Robby Mansour and Mansour’s friend Alex Cauchi to raise money for a defibrillator for Austral FC.

“We were going to do a six a side tournament anyway among ourselves and then we decided we should use it as a fundraiser to buy Marc’s club a defibrillator,” Cauchi said.

Robby Mansour and Alex Cauchi created the Marc Arcuri Cup in 2014.

The cup raised $6500 that year enabling Mansour and Cauchi to purchase three ­defibrillators, which cost ­between $2000-$3000 each.

After the success of the first cup, the pair decided to make it an annual public event.

Cauchi, who works at The Hills Shire Council, said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the amount raised at the second cup, which smashed their target of $20,000.

Through a partnership with Royal Life Saving NSW, Mansour and Cauchi will be able to use the money raised to purchase 21 defibrillators for amateur clubs.

“The defibrillators we have are the ones used by the A-League clubs so they’re top of the range and they’re generally designed so anyone can use them,” Cauchi said.

Email [e-mail] with your club’s name, contact details, home ground, association, number of registered players, and if any have played in the Cup.

Applications close Feb. 12.