A PAIR of football tournaments took place at the same time on both sides of the Atlantic to raise cash for charity.

Crohn's sufferer Andy Woodward organised the event in Worcester today (Sunday, January 25), while his pals in America set up a simultaneous tournament in Carolina.

The sporting fundraiser, which took place at playing fields in Claines, raised about £2,000 for the National Association of Colitis and Crohn's Disease (NACC).

Mr Woodward said: “It has gone really well and we have smashed our initial target of raising £1,500.

“There have been three teams participating – The Hornets FC, The Originals and The Legends – and about 50 people have attended in total.

“We would not be anywhere near the target without their support and it feels amazing and overwhelming to have received this help.”

The event was also organised as a memorial match for former Hornets player Alessio Adorisio, who tragically died in a car crash in 2009.

Money raised from the football tournament will be added to Mr Woodward’s sponsorship for running the London Marathon in aid of the NACC.

He is hoping to raise cash so he can answer the "life-long question of how we treat and prevent such a disease".

Crohn's is a debilitating condition that can affect any part of a person's gastrointestinal tract.

Mr Woodward, who works for Tesco in Birmingham, was diagnosed with Crohn's when he was 12.

He said that as one of the few 'Crohnies' able to run a marathon he thought he should take on the challenge and will be running alongside his pal Matthew Ford.

He said: "I want to raise awareness of the condition and raise money for the NACC.

"There are a lot of other complications and challenges for Crohn's sufferers, it's not just one disease.

“I do a lot of running and other sport and so I’m lucky.

"All being well I'll probably run about 26 or 29 miles a week in four days.

"At the moment it's really hard to gauge [how fast I'll go].

"I think I'd be happy to do 7:20 miles on that course so 3.40 overall would be good.

"But I'm definitely going to put in a faster time knowing Matthew is running next to me, because I don't want him to beat me.”

To donate to either Mr Woodward or Mr Ford's charity goal visit justgiving.com/Matthew-Ford6, justgiving.com/hornets2015 or justgiving.com/am-woodward