#PlayersTogether Movement Raises £1m for NHS With Largest-Ever Shirt Giveaway

The #PlayersTogether movement started by Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson in order to help raise money for NHS Charities during the coronavirus crisis has brought in £1m through its ‘Shirts for Heroes’ raffle.

The online raffle hosted by eBay ran until 14 June and gave fans the opportunity to buy a £5 ticket to try and win signed shirts donated by players at every club - 500 shirts in total.

It was the largest shirt giveaway in the history of football and fans bought digital raffle tickets in their thousands, generating £500,000. eBay donated a further £500,000 to bring the total that will now be donate to NHS Charities Together, representing more than 200 member charities.

A collective statement from the players of #PlayersTogether read: “As players, we have been determined as a group to help in any way we can and we started talking about how we could help as soon as the pandemic hit.

“That’s why we established #PlayersTogether to raise much needed funds for front line carers through NHS Charities Together, and we’re delighted to have raised £1m with the charity raffle.  This is a player led-initiative, working together collaboratively across all clubs and we are delighted to team up with eBay to offer our signed shirts in the Shirts for Heroes campaign.

“We are glad that this was something which all fans up and down the country can get involved in and help us raise even more money to make a difference for the real heroes of this crisis.” 

Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together, said: “These are incredibly trying times, especially for those working on the frontline fighting Covid-19, but the outpouring of support from the British public for NHS staff, volunteers and patients has been absolutely incredible.

“We’re so grateful to #PlayersTogether for their support, and the £1M that they have raised with the charity raffle. Sport has a wonderful way of bringing people together, and we hope this raffle has been a fun way for the millions of football fans to rally around our NHS heroes while having the chance to win one of these amazing signed shirts.”

eBay UK raises around £26m each year for community charities and eBay UK vice-president Rob Hattrell said the company was ‘delighted’ to donate £500,000 to the ‘Shirts for Heroes’ raffle in order to reach the overall target of £1m.

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