Fundraising Profile

100 games and one powerful mission to support MND

Published: 20 February 2026

For Chris Bettiol, sport has always been a thread that connects the people he loves. In 2026, that lifelong passion is being channeled into something far bigger than the scoreboard.

This year, Chris is attempting an extraordinary challenge. He is attending 100 professional and semi-professional sporting games across Australia in 12 months, all to raise funds for MND Australia.

For every game he attends, Chris is donating money. He is also inviting the public to follow the journey, share the experience, and contribute to the cause along the way.

The concept of 100 games did not appear overnight. It began more than a decade ago, sparked by a simple conversation between Chris and his son.

Ten years ago, the pair realised they were constantly attending live sport together. Football, cricket, soccer. Weekends were filled with fixtures.

“My son said to me, ‘Dad, I reckon we go to more than 100 games in a year.’ And I said, ‘No, there’s no way,’” Chris recalls.

So they decided to test it.

They set themselves the challenge of tracking every professional match they attended. By the end of the year, they had done it. One hundred games.

At the time, it was simply a personal milestone. Social media was not as prominent, and the journey stayed largely within their own circles. But the memory stuck.

Chris and his wife have always made a point of supporting charities each year. When they began thinking about their next fundraising effort, the idea resurfaced with new purpose.

Rather than simply sharing a donation link, they wanted to create something people could follow. Something interactive. Something that could grow. The100 Games challenge was reborn. This time, it would be for a cause.

Chris’ 2026 challenge is ambitious in both scale and logistics.

He and his family are attending games across multiple codes, competitions, and cities. Rugby league, soccer, AFL, netball, women’s football, and more. If it is a professional or national-level competition, it is on the table.

“It has to be a national tournament or a tournament that has professional players playing in it,” he explains.

That commitment adds complexity. Travel, scheduling, and ticket costs all come into play. Chris is a school teacher, which means weekends often involve lesson preparation as well as family time.

Finding space for 100 games is no small feat.

“The challenge is to find some time… but we make time because it’s family time too,” he says.

And that is what makes this fundraiser so special. It is not a solo endurance mission. It is a shared family journey.

Chris’ son, who helped inspire the original challenge, is back on board. This time, his daughter is joining too. Now 16, she was too young to take part a decade ago. In 2026, she is right beside her dad in the stands.

Chris’ wife also joins many of the matches, along with extended family members depending on the location and fixture. What began as a father-son statistic has evolved into a full family experience.

L-R: Chris and his son attended 100 games in 2015. Chris’s daughter and wife join in the challenge fun. 

Why MND Australia

While the challenge is fuelled by a love of sport, the cause behind it is personal.

When Chris and his wife were deciding which charity to support this year, she made the suggestion. Her grandfather, Reginald, lived with motor neurone disease.

She still carries vivid memories of watching the disease progress.

On early visits, he struggled to walk. Later, he was in a wheelchair in a nursing home. Eventually, he lost the ability to communicate, even though his mind remained active.

“The last bit of memory she could remember is that he wasn’t able to communicate, but she could tell that his mind was functioning,” Chris shares.

He passed away in 1995, at a time when awareness of MND was far lower than it is today.

Supporting MND Australia became a way to honour his memory while helping families facing the disease now. Chris also recognises the growing visibility of MND in the community.

“Unfortunately more people are experiencing motor neurone disease… It’s something that we need to find a way to manage or try and find a solution for.”

The road to 100

Planning 100 games requires strategy. Some fixtures are local. Others are built around travel. Chris and his family are structuring weekends away around major matches, turning fundraising into shared experiences.

They have interstate trips planned, including rugby league clashes and A-League fixtures scheduled across the same weekend. They are attending women’s international football tournaments and national competitions.

“There isn't any game that we wouldn't watch because we love sport in general and it’s an opportunity to add another $10 to MND,” he says simply.

Supporters can track Chris’ progress across social media, where he shares a vlog for each game. By year’s end, Chris hopes not only to reach 100 games but to have brought a wide online community along for the ride.

His challenge is ambitious, time-intensive, and costly. But for Chris and his family, the reward is measured differently. Measured in funds raised for care and support and in honouring the legacy of a grandfather whose experience with MND still shapes his family’s story today.

Donate to the 100 Games in 2026 fundraiser
Follow the journey on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.