Oldham Athletic Girls & Women are delighted to announce Ellen White as a club sponsor, using the opportunity to promote a worthwhile cause to the local community.
The England and Manchester City star, who is also the Lionesses' all-time record goalscorer with 48 in just over a century of appearances is an influential figure in the game.
Now her and her husband, Callum have committed to the Girls & Women section of the club by sponsoring the front of the shirts for all the teams until 2023 with a charity very close to their heart, the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
Former Liverpool, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers footballer Stephen Darby and British Forces Veteran Chris Rimmer partnered together to launch the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
Close friends to Ellen and Callum, Stephen and Chris both have Motor Neurone Disease and have created a Foundation to create awareness of MND, to fund and assist research into the illness with the quest of finding a cure for the illness, to raise funds and offer grants to those with MND, as well as creating a network to help provide information and emotional support network for those diagnosed with the disease.
The shirt sponsorship and partnership means now the Foundation will have increased presence and awareness throughout Oldham and the North West.
To find out all about the Foundation, visit: https://darbyrimmermnd.co.uk/
On confirming the sponsorship, Ellen and Callum said; "We’ve been looking for an opportunity to show our support for the amazing work Chris and Stephen are doing through the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
"To be able to do that by supporting Oldham Athletic Girls and Women to provide a safe and fun environment to play football is the perfect combination. We can't wait to see the teams playing and enjoying their football in the North Manchester Girls League and the Greater Manchester Women’s League with the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation logo proudly on display."
Whilst, Callum Irving, Coach, and Committee member at Oldham Athletic Girls & Women said; "The support from Ellen and Callum is amazing for our club's future.
"Ellen is a modern icon with a lot of volunteers, players and coaches looking up to her throughout the game as a role model and with Euros approaching in the summer in England and the local area, girls and women's football is consistently on the rise and getting more and more exposure so this partnership and kind offer from Ellen shows the real true spirit of the game we all love.
"We are also incredibly proud to front the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation on the shirts and we hope we can help raise awareness for MND through this. We are all extremely grateful for this opportunity and we know it can only help the club go from strength to strength."
Oldham Athletic Girls & Women were established back in 2004 and has been providing girls-only football in the town for nearly two decades now as more get involved and want to represent the club with pride.
They currently have teams for ages U8, U9, U10, U11, U12 and U14, training at Avro's Vestacare Stadium on Friday's 7-8pm with games and fixtures across the weekend.
For anyone interested in getting involved, to play, coach or volunteer, please email women@oldhamathletic.co.uk
The club is also looking to add further sponsors to help continue its progression. To enquire about these opportunities, please email callum.irving@oact.org.uk direct.