Blair Adams' signed shirt raises an incredible £321 for Sky Blues in the Community
Coventry City defender Blair Adams was delighted to see his signed match-worn shirt raise £321 for Sky Blues in the Community (SBitC).
The 21-year old defender decided to put the shirt up for auction in the hope it would raise some vital funds for SBitC’s work in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Adams, who signed a permanent deal with the club in January, was surprised at the amount raised and thanked the City fans who bid for the shirt.
The left-back said: “It was something I was passionate about doing because I was going to give it away on Twitter but thought it would be better used raising money for charity.
“I was hoping it would raise a few hundred pounds but when I saw it finished above £300, I was delighted as those funds will definitely help SBitC.
“I would to thank all the fans who bid for the shirt and of course, the actual buyer. It is a good thing to do and like I have said before, as a player of the club, I am happy the money will be going to the community I represent.”
SBitC have expanded their operations this year as their project ‘InForm’ received a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to embed it in Coventry for the next 5 years.
Joint Head of Community David Busst explained where the money will be used and has thanked the City left-back for the gesture.
Busst said “it was a great gesture from Blair to donate the shirt to support our work, and we are very grateful to both Blair and all of those supporters who bid on the shirt.
“We come into contact with thousands of people of all ages every year across our range of projects and activities. Through our work specifically at schools, holiday courses and activities in housing estates we see hundreds of children each week of all football abilities.
“For three years now we have been operating a Player Development Centre scheme, which provides technical and tactical coaching for players aged 6-15 to over 450 children. We link closely with the Academy on the programme and in the 2012-13 season we had 65 players attending Academy trials at Coventry and other clubs, with 12 going on to sign full professional Academy terms.
“This donation will be used to offer subsidised places in our talent pathway ‘Player Development Centre’ initiative – essentially to support children and families facing financial hardship who may not otherwise have the opportunity to benefit from further football coaching to ultimately reach their potential.”