Leeds-based Cowburn added: “I always hope my work will bring some joy and style as well as get people talking. Prostate Cancer UK have done lots of great things in football, and hopefully this is the start of fans out there looking forward to Prostate United each year and getting involved along with raising plenty of money.
Prostate United is the brainchild of Stephen Gilpin and Ross Burbeary, two performance coaches working in the EFL at Rotherham United.
In six years, the campaign they created has raised over £500,000 to help stop men dying from prostate cancer – a disease claiming the lives of one man each half of a football match. This year, the duo are aiming even higher – towards the million-pound milestone, double what has been raised so far.
Gilpin, who lost his grandfather Norman to the disease in 2012 and now works for Wolverhampton Wanderers, said: “Last season was really special with the clubs that got involved and not just the members of staff working at football clubs, but supporters of those clubs up and down the country.
“We know supporters are the lifeblood of the game and in getting as many as them involved through their clubs as possible will drive the campaign and its messaging forward. What we saw with the interaction with fan bases and communities was absolutely fantastic and that translated into numbers that participated and the amount raised. Our hope for this year is to hit the £1m mark!
Burbeary, now of Huddersfield Town, and who joined Anderson and Cowburn at the launch, added: “We want more clubs to be involved this year. We’re really trying to bring football – from grassroots level up to the Premier League – together, all with one aim of raising as much money as we can for Prostate Cancer UK.”
You can sign up for Prostate United here.
Seren Evans, Head of Events and Community Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK said: “This year promises to be the biggest yet in the history of Prostate United and we can’t wait to work with Stephen and Ross again, along with all of the football clubs and supporters that sign up. We’re also really excited to offer our top fundraisers a unique new shirt and grateful to Ed for designing it.
“From the Premier League and EFL down to grassroots level, football has been so influential in raising the profile of prostate cancer. Across the football industry, from the terraces to the touchlines, in board rooms and living rooms across the UK, as well as across pavements and parks, Prostate Cancer UK are uniting against the deadliest opponent of all.
“Whether signing-up as part of a team or going solo, every activity completed, and every pound raised helps fund lifesaving research into better tests and treatments to save men’s lives.”
To join your club and help save men’s lives this October, sign up for Prostate United 2024 at prostateunited.prostatecanceruk.org.