The football world will unite this month to help raise awareness of bowel cancer.
Players, managers and match officials from throughout the professional game have joined forces with bowel cancer charities to stand up to the disease throughout April as part of the Know the Score campaign.
This year’s campaign will feature a poster of England internationals Jack Wilshire and Rachel Yankey, who won her 125th cap for her country last week, along with Mick McCarthy, the Ipswich Town Manager, and Premier League referee Mark Halsey.
The Know the Score campaign will encourage people to know the symptoms of bowel cancer, which is the second highest cause of cancer related deaths in the UK.
Every day 44 people die of bowel cancer in the UK.
It is most common in people over the age of 60 but can affect men and women of any age.
Bobby Moore, England’s 1966 World Cup winning captain, die of bowel cancer in 1993 at the age of 51.
Stephanie Moore, Bobby’s widow, said: “Raising awareness through campaigns such as Know the Score is so important, as bowel cancer is 90 per cent treatable if caught early enough.”
The Professional Footballers association, League Managers association and Professional Game Match Officials Limited are supporting the 2013 campaign and members will wear the Star of Hope badge from April 13 to 20 to show their backing.
Know the Score t-shirts will also be worn during pre-match warm-ups.
Brentford’s players will wear them before Saturday’s npower League One match against Portsmouth at Griffin Park.
Luis Melville, from Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, is leading the campaign on behalf of the Club and is pictured above with Adam Forshaw and Harry Forrester.
The Bobby Moore Fund, the Adam Stansfield Foundation, Beating Bowel Cancer, Bowel Cancer UK, the Men’s Health Forum and Know the Score’s found charity The Mr Brightside Project, are working together throughout April, Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.
For more information on Know the Score visit www.knowthescore.org.uk or www.mrbrightsideproject.co.uk.