Our Supporters
08 Jul 2020
This article is more than 3 years old

“Don’t leave it to me and the panel”: Jeff Stelling on why you should wear a Man Of Men badge this season.

With football back in full swing, the Soccer Saturday boys are back too, with their ‘Man of Men’ pin badges firmly pinned to their lapels.

Jeff and the team continue their crusade to make sure every football fan in the UK knows the score about the most commonly diagnosed cancer. Here’s his message to fans everywhere.

Hi everyone, Jeff Stelling here.

I thought I’d kick off by saying a huge thank you for your continued support through these challenging times. With COVID-19 stopping life-changing prostate cancer research in its tracks and slashing the funds available to support men, it’s been a difficult period for prostate cancer research, and thousands of families across the country.

But now that football is back, everyone in our football family can play their role in raising awareness and getting treatment and research back on track. I was proud to play my part in a new video talking about the power of the iconic ‘Man of Men’ pin badge. 

The badge that myself and the boys wear every week has been top of my agenda when chatting to a host of top newspapers and radio stations. It represents everyone involved in the fight against the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, everyone who wants to stop prostate cancer limiting lives. The 400,000 fathers, brothers, uncles, husbands, partners, mates and granddads living with or after prostate cancer, and those who have sadly died from the disease.

Prostate cancer affects everyone; the men in our lives and those around them, and as a football fan you’re in pole position to help. Don’t leave it to me, don’t leave it to the panel. You can wear it too.
Jeff Stelling

I’ve also been keeping my presenting skills sharp, not just on Soccer Saturday but by testing your knowledge hosting the sports round of the ‘Staying Inn’ Quiz. Almost 1,000 of you put your thinking caps on to help stop prostate cancer being a killer, raising a whopping £10,000. Unbelievable!

My Soccer Saturday colleague, Charlie Nicholas, has been in my thoughts after he shared his experience of losing his dad, Chic, to prostate cancer. Charlie has always spoken fondly of his dad, and it was touching to read his message to Chic on our ‘Dedication to Dad’ wall.

The lockdown has also given me more time to acknowledge what it must be like for men affected by prostate cancer and their families. Like my good mate, Lloyd Pinder.

Lloyd is living with advanced prostate cancer and has had to go into shielding, which, heartbreakingly, includes staying away from his amazing family.

Lloyd’s heart-wrenching experience of lockdown is sadly just one of thousands of stories across the UK and proves that although life as we know it may have changed drastically thanks to COVID-19, the devastating effects of prostate cancer remain.

Research has only just restarted, and we desperately need to get things back on track, so we need to keep on fundraising as much as we can.

I’ve been in the research labs, and there are some mighty talented and dedicated people who are working their socks off to find effective treatments for prostate cancer. The sooner those treatments come along, the happier me and some of my close friends affected by prostate cancer will be.

A saving grace for many – including myself – has been the long-awaited return of top-flight football. Now, while what we’ve been watching over the last couple of matchdays may be an altered version of the beautiful game we all know and love, knowing that we have at least three matches every day to sink our teeth into is a wonderful feeling.

It’s been encouraging to see Premier League managers, like Brighton boss Graham Potter and Watford manager Nigel Pearson, continue their support by sporting their badges too.

I’ll have to wait a little while before I can watch my beloved Hartlepool United again, but what I can be sure of is that the lads, backed by our fantastic supporters, will be back stronger – much like Prostate Cancer UK. Men, we are with you.

Join me, and the biggest team in football, to help get prostate cancer research back on track and stop prostate cancer limiting lives. Get your badge today.