England players will wear shirts without names in the second half of their friendly against Switzerland on Saturday to support the Alzheimer's Society. The charity hopes the gesture will draw attention to how people with dementia lose precious memories, even the names of their favourite football players.
There are 900,000 people in the UK living with dementia, enough to fill Wembley 10 times over. The Alzheimer's Society was announced as the Football Association's official charity partner last year, and Saturday's match is officially known as the Alzheimer's Society International. The England shirts will be auctioned off following the match, with the proceeds going to support the work of the Alzheimer's Society.
The Society's chief executive Kate Lee said: "As the squad walk out in these thought-provoking shirts, we hope it will get fans up and down the country to sit up and take note of the reality of living with dementia.
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"Football should be unforgettable - I hope it makes a massive impact that ripples from the Royal Box to the stands and into homes across the nation, inspiring people to support our work to raise awareness and reduce stigma and help us make sure no one faces dementia alone."
The partnership with the FA covers two seasons and aims to raise funds to support vital services, ensure employees, players, former players and fans are referred to expert dementia support, help tackle the stigma surrounding the condition, create dementia-friendly facilities at football venues and to work with the FA to further understand the cause of dementia and its risk factors.
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