A host of football shirts donated by north west clubs – including ones signed by Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford and Manchester City and Portugal international Rúben Dias – are being auctioned to raise funds for Broughton House Veteran Care Village, the Salford home for ex-servicemen and women.
In total, shirts from 11 clubs are up for grabs, including commemorative poppy shirts.
The full list features:
- A United poppy shirt signed by Marcus Rashford;
- A City shirt signed by RúbenDias;
- Shirts signed by the Everton, Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers, Salford City, Rochdale FC, Stockport County and Altrincham FC squads;
- A Blackburn Rovers shirt signed by former star Jason McAteer and a signed copy of his autobiography;
- An Oldham Athletic poppy shirt.
Bids can be submitted via auction@broughtonhouse.com.
The deadline is 12.30pm on Thursday 17 December and there is no limit to the number of bids each person can make.
Details of the bids will be shared regularly across social media platforms and the leading bidder will be notified by email.
Broughton House is currently undergoing a £13m transformation to create the UK’s first Veteran Care Village.
The first stage of the redevelopment was completed in September, when residents moved into a new three-storey building which has residential and nursing care accommodation with 32 beds over two floors.
The next stage of the scheme has begun and will feature 32 residential care and residential dementia care beds and six independent living apartments alongside the Armed Forces Support Hub.
Broughton House is seeking to raise a further £1.4m to complete this stage of the project.
Laura Carr, the community and events fundraiser at Broughton House, said:
“We are extremely grateful to all of the clubs for donating the shirts for auction. They and the copy of Jason McAteer’s signed autobiography will help raise much-needed funds as we transition into the UK’s first Veteran Care Village.
“To have the clubs’ support is fantastic. Our veterans really appreciate it, and we hope fans far and wide get involved and take part in our auction.
“All of the funds raised will be crucial in enabling us to continue our work supporting the veteran community, in particular given the challenging circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The distribution of the shirts will be managed appropriately and handled in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines.
For further information on the auction, visit https://www.broughtonhouse.com/the-great-auction/
