The National Football Museum in Manchester is hoping to change lives and all they need are your old, worn-out and ill-fitting football shirts.
The Manchester-based museum is collecting the shirts until September 26 on behalf of Street Child World Cup, which is donating shirts across 19 countries, while museum partners Campo Retro are even offering an extra incentive to anyone who donates a shirt: £5 off any new football strip ordered through their website.
The Street Child World Cup, in association with Save the Children, use football to help transform the lives of children living and working on the streets.
John Wroe, Street Child World Cup CEO, said: “Every football shirt you donate represents a dream and we believe in the dreams of street children to leave the streets behind.”
April’s Street Child World Cup took 230 former street children from 19 countries to Rio de Janeiro for a football tournament, festival of arts and a participatory conference.
Wroe added the projects use football to help engage the young people who are the hardest to reach, teaching them life skills so that they will never return to the streets.
“The children learn valuable lessons like team work and discipline but above all else, football is an opportunity for them to have fun and dream which every child has a right to do.”
Many famous faces have showed their support to the campaign, including former Manchester United winger David Beckham and ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 38 trophies in his 26 years at the Old Trafford helm until he retired in 2013.
“I know from personal experience just what power football can have to inspire and change young people’s lives whatever their background or nationality,” said Beckham.
“This is what the Street Child World Cup is all about and I give it my full support.”
Ferguson added: “No child should have to live on the streets and I fully endorse this campaign giving street children a voice to claim their rights.”
The museum’s director Kevin Moore is hoping to collect as many football shirts as possible.
“We believe there’s barely a home in the UK that doesn’t contain a football shirt. We know that many of these shirts lay neglected in the bottom of wardrobes and cupboards.
“If you have an old, unwanted football shirt – maybe it doesn’t fit any longer or isn’t worn because it’s a few seasons out of date – then get them to us, either by post or by dropping them off at the museum in person.
“We’ll make sure they help improve the lives of some of the world’s least fortunate children.”
Unwanted football shirts should be sent or delivered to:
National Football Shirt Amnesty
National Football Museum
Urbis Building
Cathedral Gardens
Todd St
Manchester M4 3BG
Main image courtesy of England Football Official via YouTube, with thanks.
