“HE WAS PART OF OUR FOOTBALL FAMILY” — JACKSON DUKE, 17, REMEMBERED BY HEBBURN TOWN AFTER RIVER WEAR TRAGEDY

The talented young footballer had his whole sporting future ahead of him. Now his teammates and coaches are preparing to play on without a boy they say will be deeply missed.

For Jackson Duke, football was more than simply a game.

At 17, he was already part of the football community around Hebburn Town Juniors, representing the club’s Under-18s team and building memories with teammates and coaches who had watched him develop as a young player.

He was still at the beginning of his journey.

There were matches still to play, goals still to score and countless football memories that should have been waiting for him.

Instead, one of the most devastating tragedies Sunderland has seen in recent years has left his teammates facing a reality none of them could have imagined.

Jackson was one of three teenagers who died after a black Audi A3 entered the River Wear near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland on September 29.

He was 17.

His friends Luke Etheridge, 16, and Zara Shaw, 16, also lost their lives.

And now, the football club that knew Jackson as one of its own is mourning a young player whose story ended far too soon.

A YOUNG FOOTBALLER WITH HIS FUTURE AHEAD OF HIM

Jackson played for Hebburn Town Juniors and was part of the club’s Under-18 setup.

His football journey was still developing, but his connection with the sport was already an important part of his life.

The club has described him as a “much-loved member” of its football family.

That description has particular significance in youth football, where players spend years growing up alongside the same teammates, coaches and families.

For Jackson’s teammates, he was not simply another player listed on a team sheet.

He was someone they trained with.

Someone they played alongside.

Someone they shared victories, disappointments, jokes and dressing-room memories with.

And someone who should have had many more seasons ahead of him.

THE FOOTBALL MEMORIES THAT REMAIN

In the days following Jackson’s death, attention turned not only to the tragedy itself but also to the young person he was before becoming a name in national headlines.

Stories of Jackson’s football life began emerging as his club and wider community tried to remember him for the things he loved.

For a young striker, every goal can feel significant.

A goal is a moment shared with teammates — the run, the finish, the celebration and the feeling of hearing supporters react.

Those moments are normally just the beginning of a footballer’s story.

For Jackson’s teammates, however, those memories have now taken on a different meaning.

The games they once experienced together have become memories of a friend who will never return to the pitch.

While social-media tributes have referred to Jackson’s recent goal-scoring moments, available mainstream reports do not independently establish that a particular goal was his first or definitively his final goal.

What is clear is that football was a meaningful part of Jackson’s young life — and his teammates and coaches are now left remembering him through the sport they shared.

“PART OF OUR FOOTBALL FAMILY”

Following the tragedy, Hebburn Town Juniors FC released a statement expressing its grief.

The club said:

“Jackson was part of our football family, and his loss will be deeply felt by his teammates, coaches, friends and everyone across our club who knew him.”

Those words capture the scale of the loss within the club.

For a youth football team, the bond between players can extend far beyond the 90 minutes of a match.

They train together during the week.

They travel to fixtures.

They celebrate goals.

They endure difficult results.

And, as teenagers, they grow up together.

Jackson was part of that environment.

Now, the people who shared it with him are having to process his absence.

A MINUTE’S SILENCE FOR JACKSON

The club planned a minute’s silence ahead of its FA Youth Cup fixture as players and staff came together to remember Jackson.

It was a powerful reminder that the tragedy had not simply affected three families.

It had reached schools, colleges, youth organisations and football clubs across the Sunderland area.

For Jackson’s teammates, standing together before a match would have been a chance to remember the person they knew away from the headlines.

The player who trained beside them.

The teammate who shared their ambitions.

The friend whose football journey had been interrupted before it had truly begun.

REMEMBERED AT SCHOOL TOO

Jackson’s impact was not limited to football.

His former school, Castle View Enterprise Academy, described him as a “well-respected and popular” member of its school community.

The school said he was polite, friendly and well-liked by both staff and fellow students.

It also remembered him as a keen sportsman and a valued member of the school football team.

Jackson was described as someone who embraced academic life while also contributing enthusiastically to activities outside the classroom.

For his teachers, therefore, he was more than an athlete.

He was a student who had made a positive impression on the people around him.

THREE STUDENTS, THREE FAMILIES, ONE COMMUNITY IN MOURNING

Jackson, Luke and Zara were all students at Sunderland College’s Bede Campus.

The college said it was deeply saddened by the deaths of three of its students and described the loss as heartbreaking for the college community and the wider city of Sunderland.

Tributes were left along the River Wear, where friends and classmates gathered to leave flowers, cards and messages.

For many of those young people, the tragedy was particularly difficult to understand.

They had lost classmates and friends who were close to their own age.

The future had seemed ordinary only days earlier.

Then everything changed.

THE RIVER WEAR TRAGEDY

Police received reports shortly before 1:30pm on September 29 that a black Audi A3 had come off Panns Bank near Wearmouth Bridge and entered the River Wear.

A major emergency response followed.

Three teenagers — Jackson, Luke and Zara — died.

A fourth 17-year-old boy who was also in the car reached safety and suffered non-serious injuries.

The teenager was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail pending further enquiries.

Northumbria Police said investigators were continuing to establish who was driving at the time and what led to the vehicle entering the water.

Police also said no other vehicles were believed to have been involved.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have urged people not to speculate about the circumstances, particularly online.

A FAMILY LEFT WITHOUT A FUTURE THEY EXPECTED

For Jackson’s family, no football tribute can begin to replace what has been lost.

At just 17, he should have been planning his next match rather than being remembered at one.

His parents should have been watching him develop as a young man.

His teammates should have been arguing over football results and celebrating his goals.

His coaches should have been thinking about how to help him improve.

Instead, everyone around him is now trying to understand how a young life full of possibilities could end so suddenly.

THE BOY BEHIND THE FOOTBALLER

Football may be how Jackson is being remembered publicly, but his life was bigger than the sport.

He was a son.

A friend.

A student.

A teammate.

A young person known by teachers, coaches and other teenagers across Sunderland.

The tributes from his school and football club show the same picture: a well-liked young man who made an impression on the people around him.

Hebburn Town’s message perhaps says it most simply.

“His loss will be deeply felt.”

Not just on the football pitch.

Not just at the next training session.

But throughout a community that knew Jackson and watched him grow.

A FOOTBALL JOURNEY THAT SHOULD HAVE CONTINUED

Every young footballer dreams of what might come next.

Another goal.

Another match.

Another season.

Maybe a bigger club.

Maybe a trophy.

Maybe simply more weekends spent playing the sport they love with their friends.

Jackson was only 17.

Whatever his football future might have looked like, it was still unwritten.

That is what makes his death so painful for those who knew him.

There was supposed to be a next match.

There was supposed to be another goal.

There was supposed to be another celebration.

Instead, Jackson’s teammates will now carry his memory onto the pitch with them.

And every time they play, there will be one player missing from the team they once knew.

Jackson Duke was 17. A young footballer. A teammate. A friend. A much-loved member of the Hebburn Town family.

His football journey may have ended far too soon.

But the memories he created with those who played beside him will remain.

Rest in peace, Jackson.