Hi, will you join your football club and walk, run or cycle every day this October?

Over 300 staff across 60 football clubs are uniting for this daily fitness challenge – and you can join them. Sign up to Prostate United, choose a daily distance that works for you and save lives with your club.
Represent your football club by joining their team page on JustGiving. United as one team, you’ll be fundraising alongside your fellow fans, kit men, physios and maybe even your gaffer.

 Why get involved?  Because prostate cancer kills one man every 45 minutes – that’s thousands of our teammates, dads, partners and brothers who won’t get to see another game.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. With every kilometre you cover and every pound you raise, you’ll be helping to fund research to find better tests to diagnose men sooner. If you have any questions about taking part, email us or visit our website.

Good luck in the upcoming season

SAVE LIVES WITH YOUR CLUB – Register here

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Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt

Our friends at Stanchion Weekly sent me this very interesting release this week. I copy it in its entirety

“Pretty Poly tells the fascinating story of the football shirt, charting its dramatic evolution over a 150-year period, from modest beginnings to a product at the centre of a billion-dollar industry. An emblem of everything it means to be a fan, the football shirt evokes memories of triumph and disaster and acts as a symbol of belonging to a chosen footballing tribe. Packed with facts, figures and anecdotes, Pretty Poly explores the history embedded in every feature of modern-day strips.

It covers their ever-changing shape, the emergence of dedicated club and national colours and the often surprising reasons behind them. It also looks at the companies and designers behind some of our favourite strips, and explores the birth and exponential growth of the replica-kit industry. Along the way, we learn the histories of the iconic sponsors, names, numbers, patches and badges, and meet the kit collectors with a burning lifelong passion as we delve into the burgeoning vintage kit market that feeds their interest.

The author:

Alex Ireland is a university academic, football writer and kit collector. He has written about football kits and football history for a number of publications including World Soccer, Halb Vier and United We Stand. Alex supports his local side, Manchester United, and collects 1990s long-sleeve club football shirts.

Ric Pennington (aka. Pennodraws) is a graphic designer/digital illustrator based in Stockport. He has worked with his beloved Stockport County and Venezia FC in the past and has had his artwork featured in magazines, books, match day programmes and gin bottles. You can find out more information and a selection of his artwork at www.pennodraws.com “

The book can, of course be bought from Stanchion Books

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Who are Link Up Estate Agents?

We are a highly respected independent Estate Agent, offering a complete range of Property services such as residential sales, lettings, property management, short let’s, commercial letting & management, new homes development land appraisals, mortgages and homes abroad.

Our pro-active and experienced team treats out clients as individuals and tailors their needs accordingly. Our comprehensive marketing campaigns ensure coverage of all areas which in turn gives our clients quick success and we provide ourselves on our repeat customs. We are quickly expanding our group of offices, longer opening hours, latest technology and modern premises. Our service levels are consistent with the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Code of Practice, Office of Fair Trading and National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). 

Check their website here

Who are Hayes & Yeading United?

Hayes & Yeading United Football Club is based in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The club was formed in 2007 from a merger of Hayes Football Club (founded in 1909) and Yeading Football Club (founded in 1960). It currently competes in the Southern League Premier Division South and plays its home matches at the Skyex Community Stadium. Notables? Ted Lasso, Robin Friday and Cyril Regis.

Check their website here

If you want to win a FREE ticket for the Hayes & Yeading FC v Tiverton Town FC, first home game of the season, on the 12th of August 2023, at 3pm:

1. Follow Link Up Estate Agents & Hayes and Yeading United FC (Official) on Facebook
2. Like their post

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Prostate FC: The Shirt

To kick off the new season we’ve got a new look. Help save lives on the pitch, sofa and stands with our brand new Prostate FC football shirt.

You may remember we launched Prostate FC with the shirt, and following the hugely positive response, we’re delighted to have the new home shirt available to buy for our new season giving prostate cancer a good kicking.

Save lives from the pitch, the sofa and stands with our new Prostate FC Football Shirt. 

Join the biggest team in football taking on the most common cancer in men. 

Made from 100% recycled moisture-wicking polyester, with a woven Prostate FC emblem badge.  

Available in sizes S – XXXL

All profits will go to taking on the most common cancer in men; funding lifesaving research to save and improve the lives of men with prostate cancer SHOP NOW

We hope you can wear the shirt with pride this season. Keep your eyes peeled for more news coming soon.

Thanks, and if you have any questions, please get in touch. 

Matt and Dan
Prostate FC team

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Free Shirts – Free Kits

I received a very interesting press release today. This was not some club spokesman telling me how excited he was at the launch of the goalkeeper’s away Europa Conference League third change gloves* for just £120 with FREE postage (*sarcasm warning!) This was an announcement about FREE kits for clubs further down the pyramid. It looks very interesting and I would be very interested to hear what happens if you apply!

FOOTBALL FOR ALL

KITS FOR CLUBS

by

LYLE & SCOTT

As transfer fees, salaries and commercial revenue at the top of the game reach astronomical levels, the efforts and dedication of the heroes of amateur football are often under-appreciated and overlooked. We recognise that football at its grassroots is shamefully underfunded, often leaving small local communities with no choice but to contribute their hard-earned incomes to keep their clubs alive.

‘Kits for Clubs’ will pay tribute to our historical connections to football by offering free, bespoke football kits to amateur teams and small clubs across the world. Any club, whether 5, 7 or 11-a-side, freestylers, pub teams or mid-week footballers, is invited to apply for complimentary football kits.

HOW IT WORKS

We have designed an application process to help get to know your club, where we will ask for details about what makes you special and why you need our kit.

Once we have this information, a panel of football experts will review your application and decide which clubs are the most suitable for our campaign. You will then be invited to complete your application, so we can customise and deliver your kits for your upcoming fixtures.

Apply here

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I got a very interesting press release from our friends at Brentford FC this week. I thought it deserved more eyeballs, so here we are…

BRENTFORD FC LAUNCHES NEW SHORT FILM SERIES, THOUSANDS OF STORIES 

Thomas Frank features, wearing heart rate monitor for Premier League match

Brentford FC today launches Thousands of Stories, a new series of short films sharing the stories of the club’s community. The series kicks off with the first of four films, The Pressure, which sees the spotlight on Brentford head coach, Thomas Frank and cardiac health.  

The series focuses on the stories that make up the club from staff, fans and the wider community. Thousands of Stories aims to show how each person’s story is special and important in shaping the club.  

The first film, The Pressure, looks at the stress of being a Premier League manager as Thomas Frank wears a heart rate monitor throughout the day of the club’s 2022/23 home fixture against West Ham. The film explores the importance of cardiac health and motivations behind the club’s Heart of West London initiative. Viewers discover how Frank’s heart fluctuates in reaction to pivotal elements during the football match, including substitutions and VAR decisions. 

Reflecting on the experience, Brentford head coach, Thomas Frank said: “I was interested to see how my heart reacted during a match. Every Head Coach knows that Premier League football is stressful and it’s amazing to see what happened to my heart rate during match events.  

“I am proud to be part of the heart health campaigns we run here at Brentford. Knowing what happened to Robert Rowan and Christian Eriksen makes it something that really matters to me. Cardiac health is important for everyone and it’s important we do what we can be lead a healthy lifestyle and look after ourselves.” 

Three further films in Thousands of Stories will be released across the next three weeks: 

• The Team looks at the impact of the Brentford Community Sports Trust’s women’s recreational football sessions and the opportunity it gives to women who want to play football at a non-professional level 
• The Chance explores the story of Brentford staff member, Mariia Manirko who moved to the UK from Ukraine after Russia’s invasion  
• The Voice follows the story Peter Gilham, Brentford’s club announcer, also known as Mr Brentford  

The four films were produced by creative agency, Studio Something. Thousands of Stories is expected to be an ongoing series and along with its launch, the club is encouraging Bees fans to share their stories.  

Brentford chief executive, Jon Varney said: “Here at Brentford, everyone’s story is important, from our fans to our matchday staff to those involved in our community projects.  

‘We’re really proud to see the launch of Thousands of Stories. It’s the start of a series that allows us to share what it means to be a part of Brentford. And the series doesn’t stop here, we want to hear the stories of our fans too who help make this club so special.”  

With special thanks to all those who were involved in the production including: 

Peter Gilham 

Linda Gilham 

Amber Langston-Lloyd 

Mariia Manirko  

Sam Meakin  

Lauren Moors

Zoe Moors

Dr Nick Pantazopoulos

Nity Raj 

Studio Something  

More information on Thousands of Stories can be found on the club’s website.  

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By Jackpollock – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

Some of you will know that I speak Swedish. Some of you will know that I have spent much of my life in the Land of ABBA and Pippy Longstocking. It was a pleasure to return recently and my friend Mats from Idrottsplats was kind enough to recommend a few grounds to visit. Stockholm in the sun is truly the most beautiful place on earth (apart from the Priestfield Stadium, of course.) I was blessed with absolutely perfect weather as I strolled around the capital after a ferry from Estonia. The Swedish season avoids the worst of their winter so there were top two division games to see whilst the amateurs have a mid-season break and I asked Mats for recommendations. It boiled down to the National Stadium at Solna or Brommapojkarna just up the road. Sadly, I could not catch both so he recommended AIK at the Friends Arena. It’s a VERY impressive stadium with excellent communication links. It would remind anyone of the London Arena – it even has its won Westfield immediately opposite the arena! Excellent security, “reasonably acceptable” food and drink prices and £12 for a great seat. Sadly no programme or similar. Tragically an absolutely appalling game where the locals AIK were easily beaten by an average BKH, Bollklubben Häcken who surprisingly are towards the very top of the table. AIK look relegation fodder. Respect to the home fans who have only seen their team win once at home all season in the league. They kept singing all afternoon in the bright sunshine more associated with Santorini than Stockholm!

Mats Tallkvist runs the excellent Idrottsplats.se website which is a definitive guide to grounds throughout Sweden. Idrotts = sport and plats =place/ground. That gives you a little clue about the grounds. Yes, many are the multisports complexes much loved by local councillors the world over! Mats produces postcards of many of these and an excellent calendar. Please feel welcome to get in touch, he says. He speaks excellent English. He is a fan of Halmstads Bollklubb, also known as Halmstad or HBK or Bollklubben from Halland in the South of Sweden. Hands across the sea!

Some of Mats’ postcards available on the website

Edsvallen i Edsbruk

Åsavallen i Listerby

Siljumsborg i Bygdsiljum

They all look rather idyllic don’t they? I guarantee they are less so at minus 20 and horizontal rain. Perhaps collecting Mats’ cards is the safest way. Enjoy!

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Yes, it’s that time of year again when clubs flood the market with half a dozen or more “must-have” new shirts. I suppose I am getting a bit cynical but when I see “Goalkeeper’s Third Shirt Europa Conference League Special” when the club did not venture above the half way line in the table I wonder whether it is time to say, “Enough is Enough” or “Basta Ya” in the case of Real Madrid or Barcelona. The other irritant is the move to producing leisure wear rather than easily-identified football kit. There was a day when it was red against blue. Now most clubs seem to have every colour under the rainbow and I wonder whether we will still associate Manchester United and Liverpool with the colour red in the years to come or will they be more famous for a sky blue pink tiger-print! So, for better or worse, here are a few of this season’s “efforts!”

Arsenal even launch a “new” pre-match shirt.

Yes, Wolves have a new Keeper’s Away Shirt!

Spurs allowing you to personalise the Shirt!

AS Roma claim immodestly that their away shirt is “a piece of art” – so it should be at 100 euros. I’d want it signed by Banksy, Van Gogh and Van Nistelrooy for that price!

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Liverpool FC Women’s Kit

As you might imagine, the Liverpool FC Women’s kit has not garnered as much attention or documentation as that of the men’s team. However, similar to the men’s team, Liverpool FC Women traditionally wear a kit that featured the club’s iconic red. The design and details of the kit have evolved over time, reflecting changes in fashion and advancements in sports apparel in general. The exact details of the earliest Liverpool FC Women’s kits aren’t as well known, given the fact that women’s football received less recognition and coverage in the past.

In recent years, however, as women’s football has gained increased prominence, there has been more focus on documenting and promoting the history of women’s teams, including their kits. Since the club merged with the men’s team in 1994, the women tend to have worn the same kit design as the men, with the main difference being the shape of the outfit. As you might imagine, this has been altered in order to better fit the body of a woman. There have also been occasions in which the main sponsor on the shirt has been different for them women, in an attempt to target a specific demographic.

The Avon Sponsorship

When it comes to interesting information about the Liverpool Women’s kit, there is perhaps no story worth telling quite like the one concerning the sponsorship from Avon. In 2017, Avon, the cosmetics company, decided to sponsor the ladies team and, in doing so, became the first female-focussed brand to sponsor a professional women’s football team. They signed a three-year deal to do so, replacing Standard Chartered, who were the men’s sponsors at the time. It was the first occasion in which the women’s team had a shirt sponsor independent of the one that sponsored the men.

The Avon-sponsored kit was worn for the first time on the 23rd of April 2017, which was when they kicked-off their Women’s Super League Spring Series campaign with a match against Yeovil Town Ladies. Billy Hogan, the Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer for Liverpool Football Club at the time, said, “Avon is an iconic women’s brand with a rich history and shares the same core values as Liverpool Ladies Football Club.” This was backed by the General Manager of Avon UK, Andrea Slater, who hoped that the sponsorship would ‘inspire and create a world with more empowered women’.

Standard Chartered Took Back Over

When Avon signed the deal to become the sponsors of the Liverpool Women team, the hope was that it would be the beginning of an attempt to tap in to a relatively ignored market: that of women’s sports sponsorships. The problem is, as soon as companies see that there is a market for sponsorship, the likelihood is that other businesses are going to want to get involved. The success of Avon’s sponsorship of the Liverpool FC Women’s team meant that Standard Chartered, the main sponsors of the men’s team, realised that they were making a strategic error in not sponsoring them themselves.

In July of 2019, therefore, a decision was taken to become the Main Club Partner for Liverpool Football Club Women. This saw their sponsorship move to the front of the shirt and brought then in-line with the men’s team. The agreement, they said, showed ‘Standard Chartered’s views on the importance of women’s football’. It came on the back of the Women’s World Cup, which received unprecedented global attention and caused the company to realise that there was mileage in sponsoring both the men and the women. Only the future will tell if that importance remains in place.

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To paraphrase a song I remember from the 70s or 80s(?), “Oh, what a night.” After a season that left a lot to be desired and only eleven wins in the league out of the 38 games, West Ham came good in the final of the Europa Conference League in Prague. They beat Fiorentina 2-1 when everybody thought extra time and, maybe, penalties would be what separated the two teams.

An unforgettable night culminated with a 90th minute winner from Bowen after Benrahma’s penalty had been equalised by Bonaventura. So, eleven wins in the league but twelve in the Conference League and the trophy will hold pride of place at the London Stadium for the next twelve months. Sadly, the Hammers won’t be able to defend it because their victory means that they will play in the Europa League, next season. Yay!

Within hours of the whistle, our friends at Pics on Canvas had sped into action and I received an email

” WEST HAM CONFERENCE WINNNERS 22/23

We are delighted to add these amazing items onto our Sports Collection, check out the West Ham United Conference Winners Collection where you can have the trophy lift from the Final printed onto Canvas/Mounted Print/Framed Photo Print or Photo poster print!

Prices start from just £10+P&P, a perfect gift for the Hammers Fan! A perfect present for Fathers Day/Birthday or general gift and can be a great addition to a Kids Bedroom, Office or Den!”

I was hugely impressed and thought that they deserved more eyeballs. If you like what you see, ping them on Facebook for details of delivery etc etc

… but there’s more, as well as fantastic memories of a fantastic night, they can do all types of images How about your favourite player or everyone’s favourite bear, Paddington, who I promise is a massive West Ham fan!!!

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