A third of the England and Australia players taking part in Tuesday’s friendly had no names on their shirts to show support for the Alzheimer’s Society.
The match, which was the Lionesses’ final one before Sarina Wiegman names her squad for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, had been dedicated as an ‘Alzheimer’s Society International’.
One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia and to raise awareness of that the same number of players on Tuesday night had no names on their shirts.
Different players wore the nameless shirts after half-time, to draw attention to the confusion and memory loss often experienced by those living with dementia, before being auctioned. Fans are being encouraged to engage with the stunt using the hashtag #TheForgottenThird.
Kate Lee, Alzheimer’s Society CEO, said: “We hope by making this simple alternation with this gesture and getting both teams to show a sign of solidarity, we can put an important spotlight on just how much dementia can devastate lives.
“I hope it makes a massive impact from the stands to screens, inspiring people to donate so we can reach even more people with our life-changing support, which helps people through some of the hardest and most frightening times.”
