Football will help raise awarness of bowel cancer during April
During April 2013, football will unite to help raise awareness of Bowel Cancer.
Players, managers and match officials from throughout professional football have joined forces with leading Bowel Cancer charities to stand up against the disease.
This year’s campaign, which is supported by The PFA, will feature a striking new poster of England internationals Jack Wilshere and Rachel Yankey MBE, along with Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy and Premier League referee Mark Halsey, to encourage people to know the symptoms.
Bowel Cancer is the second highest cause of cancer-related deaths with 44 people dying of the disease every day in the UK. It is most common in the over-60s but can affect men and women of all ages.
Stephanie Moore, wife of England’s World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore who tragically died of Bowel Cancer aged just 51 in 1993, said: “Raising awareness through campaigns such as Know the Score is so important as Bowel Cancer is 90% treatable if caught early enough.”
The campaign is being supported by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the League Managers Association (LMA) and the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), and will see their members wear the campaign’s ‘Star of Hope’ badge from April 13th to 20th as the season reaches an exciting climax.
Match officials throughout the Premier League and Football League, and players from selected Football League clubs, will also wear Know the Score t-shirts to warm up in prior to games.
The Bobby Moore Fund, the Adam Stansfield Foundation, Beating Bowel Cancer, Bowel Cancer UK, the Men’s Health Forum and Know the Score’s founding charity, the Mr Brightside Project, are working together throughout the Bowel Cancer Awareness Month of April, and the rest of the year.
In April 2012, they staged a successful national newspaper and poster campaign, and launched the Bowel Cancer badge, the Star of Hope, which was proudly worn by managers such as Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez on national television.