THE parents of tragic Marlow teenager James Fifield have paid tribute to his friends after they rallied round to hold a "phenomenal" memorial football tournament in his name last weekend.

Claire Fifield-Moore praised the generosity of pals of the football-mad 18-year-old, some of whom were with him when he died on holiday in Zante in July.

They raised over £2500 as 300 people turned out to watch the inaugural James Fifield Memorial Tournament at Wilkes Park, the home of his old club Flackwell Heath.

After an emotionally charged minute’s applause to remember the talented player, a series of short matches saw Wye Valley Old Boys take on Marlow & Hughenden in the final and walk away with a 4-1 victory.

Claire said: "It was just the most beautiful day, and very emotional.

"It was a really fabulous occasion, and completely out of our hands as it was all the boys’ idea, transforming the match into a tournament, it was their way of helping us.

"We turned up, we smiled and we cried, and it was just phenomenal."

She added that it had been such a success, it will hopefully become an annual occasion.

James’s younger sister Jasmine took to the field wearing her brother’s number seven shirt, with stepdad Brian playing in goal as he reunited the Hugenden team he used to manage.

Claire said: "She [Jasmine] stepped up and played with the boys and she really held her own considering she was much smaller than the rest of them!

"Brian managed the team for four years so it was hard for him that James wasn’t with them.

"But to see those boys all back together again was beautiful. It was so lovely and heartbreaking at the same time."

James died in a traffic collision on Saturday, July 5, after spending a week on the island celebrating the end of his A-Level studies with seven friends from the Wye Valley School.

Since his death, the seven friends have kept a strong relationship with James’ family and they all meet together for a few hours at least once a week.

The seven boys also go to the teenager’s graveside every week.

One of the group Avion Chandiram said of Saturday's tournament: "It went really well, everything seemed to work out great, including the weather.

"We were really chuffed with the amount we raised, we weren't expecting anything like that.

Personally, I found it almost more touching than the funeral, as we all knew James loved his football and I used to play in a team with him so it was a perfect tribute to him.

"The minute's applause was a great touch, it was really nice, and everybody gave their all on the day."

Claire said James’s friends had donated the money to the family in case they had to pay to fly out to Greece in the aftermath of his death.

His family are in the process of setting up a charitable trust in James’s name and plan to donate money - including £1500 raised at his funeral - to Bucks-based charity Kids in Sport.