Football fields across Australia are set to be turned purple to raise awareness for a disease that is now the third most common cancer killer in Australia this year.
During June, football players from clubs and codes across Australia will pull on purple socks to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer in the annual #PlayInPurple awareness-building and fundraising campaign.
The initiative was promoted through a campaign which dropped in April and which was led by an online film called ‘Play in Purple 2021’
It targets all soccer players – from the elite to the grassroots game – and aims to involve players and clubs from all codes of football (young and old) by wearing purple football socks on one weekend of season in the month of June.
The aim is to raise awareness and funds in a fun and healthy way through the remarkable connections sporting clubs have through their members and local communities.
The creative seeks to drive viewers to visit PanKind’s website for more information https://pankind.org.au/take-action/pl…
The campaign is supported by both Football NSW and Football West and this year Capital Football also joins to create a national footprint.
It also boasts high-profile associations Manly Warringah Football Association (MWFA) and Sutherland Shire Football Association (SSFA), plus A-League clubs Sydney FC, Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers will be endorsing #PlayinPurple, sharing key campaign messages to their fans and offering incentives to high participating clubs.
“The campaign continues to grow from strength to strength each year, drawing much needed attention to pancreatic cancer. It’s wonderful to see the participation grow across clubs, codes and regions and reading the testimonials and talking to players, it’s clear the campaign unites communities through active participation and acts as a positive talking point between people who might not necessarily know the outcomes of pancreatic cancer,” said charity PanKind founder Isabella Di Manno.
PanKind CEO Michelle Stewart added: “We are excited to see playing fields Australia-wide turning purple again for pancreatic cancer, and awareness on this scale is exactly what we need to help shine a light on this disease. Tthis campaign is a wonderful opportunity to increase engagement between clubs, players and the community, all participating for a very important cause – pancreatic cancer awareness. The support across Australia continues to grow with high profile sporting organisations getting onboard, and for that we are incredibly thankful.”
Football NSW CEO Stuart Hodge commented: “Football NSW are very proud to again be supporting such a wonderful community initiative, combining the wonderful code of football with truly ground-breaking campaigns such as #PlayinPurple. We kindly encourage our amazing football family to do their bit in getting behind this quality initiative and we cannot wait to see the code decked out in Purple to show their support for this wonderful cause in the fight against pancreatic cancer.”
Comment:
Pancreatic cancer is projected to claim more lives than breast cancer and prostate cancer, and each year almost 4,000 people in Australia will be diagnosed with approximately 80 per cent of patients diagnosed will die within 12 months.
The disease has the lowest survival rates of all main cancer types, yet, despite these figures, pancreatic cancer trails behind other cancers when it comes to funding for research, receiving less than 8% of the funding available
Originally called ‘Purple Socks’, the campaign was created back in 2015 (when 300 players took part) by Isabella Di Manno after the sudden death of her fiancee’s mother to the disease. Isabella’s dream was to see sports fields across Australia turn purple which she saw as a fitting way to raise awareness and funds into research improving diagnosis and treatment.
2021 marks the seventh annual initiative and follows in the footsteps of the 2020 campaign which saw a record 7800 players wear purple socks to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer in 2020.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.