Football Shirts for Charity shop raises over £8,000 for vital cancer research

A pop-up shop selling vintage, new and retro football shirts at Festival Place in Basingstoke has raised more than £8,000 for research into bowel cancer in just over five weeks.

For the second year running, Football Shirts for Charity set up the shop in the run up to Christmas encouraging customers to drop off their preloved kit for resale.

In just 40 days, they raised £8,381.59 for Cancer Research UK, adding to the £9,105.36 they raised last year over 50 days.

Founded by Jayme Sporton and Tania Harding, Football Shirts for Charity sells shirts from around the world, from international teams to non-league sides. All profits are donated to The Bobby Moore Fund, Cancer Research UK, to fund pioneering bowel cancer research.

Jayme and Tania, who both live in northeast Hampshire, said: “We are delighted with the amount raised this year. We raised £8381.59 over 40 days, so in percentage terms, we actually did a little bit better this year than last!

“We have met so many truly amazing people and shared many stories, including some that were very emotional.

“It's great to raise awareness for prevention, earlier detection and better survival rates from cancer.

“We’d like to thank everyone who visited the store, donated shirts or made a purchase, as well as Festival Place and its amazing staff for giving us this opportunity once again.

“We continue with our online store and more fundraising so would still love to receive any shirt donations, which can be passed to us via the Customer Lounge at Festival Place.”

Marketing Manager Sian Fisher said: “This is a fantastic sum to have raised over just five weeks, and we are delighted that our fantastic customers turned out in force to support such a great initiative.”

For more information, visit www.festivalplace.co.uk and www.footballshirtsfc.co.uk