Nottingham Forest donates shirt partnership to UNHCR
Howard Lake | 22 December 2022 | News
Nottingham Forest Football Club is donating the sponsorship space on the front of its team shirt for the remainder of the season to UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
The Premier League club’s international charity partnership with UK for UNHCR will run from the start of 2023 to the end of the season.
Both the Nottingham Forest Men’s and Women’s teams will participate in all fixtures with the logo of UK for UNHCR on the front of their shirts. The club say that it is “a sign of solidarity for families who have been forced to flee their homes and communities”.
SEE ALSO: Aston Villa chooses charity over sponsorship (4 June 2008)
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As part of the partnership the club:
- has also made a financial donation to support international relief efforts
- will use “all its available commercial and marketing channels” to drive awareness of UNHCR’s humanitarian work, such as the delivery of emergency shelter, medical aid, water and sanitation when families are forced from their homes by conflict and persecution.
The new shirts will be on display for the first time on 1 January by the Men’s team at Nottingham Forest’s first home match of 2023 against Chelsea. The Women’s team will sport the new shirt partner when the FA Women’s National League North season resumes in the new year.
The new sponsorship shirts will be available for sale to supporters but no date for that has been indicated.
Other charitable support
The Club and the Nottingham Forest Trust have supported other charitable programmes to support the Nottingham community in areas such as mental health, suicide prevention, tackling loneliness, fostering inclusive football and youth career support.
Announcing the new partnership, Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, said: “We are delighted that for the remainder of the season we will use the front of the famous Nottingham Forest shirt to tell such an important story. It will be an honour to display their name on our shirt in support of this important cause”.
This is not the first time Marinakis has been involved in a football and charity partnership. He said:
“I am proud to have partnered with the United Nations’ global work before, with Olympiacos FC back in 2013. We supported UNICEF for four years, choosing to make a significant financial contribution to their charitable work rather than taking income from a sponsor, and giving their cause prominence on the front, and then the back, of the Olympiacos shirt.”
Charlotte Boyle, Chair of UK for UNHCR commented: “From fighting racism and homophobia, to standing with refugees, football clubs around the world are using their power to confront discrimination and support people in need. We are hugely grateful to Nottingham Forest’s generosity and compassion in supporting refugees and UNHCR’s relief efforts around the world”.
Other UNHCR football partnerships
Nottingham Forest joins FC Barcelona in becoming a supporter of refugees through UNHCR’s relief efforts.
The Spanish club announced a partnership with UNHCR in March this year to help fund relief for displaced communities in countries such as Colombia and Uganda, as well as other support such as sporting equipment.
- Aston Villa chooses charity over sponsorship (4 June 2008)
More football fundraising news
- Volunteering hub opens to link football fans with club opportunities (20 May 2022)
- Friday’s football fundraising news round-up (7 January 2022)
- Footballers and giving in the face of coronavirus (16 April 2020)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.