Leicester City lend support to hospital appeal

Leicester City's senior teams have replaced their shirt sponsor for this weekend's fixtures to show their support for the city's hospitals charity.

Both the men's and women's teams will wear shirts with 'Leicester Hospitals Charity' emblazoned across the front during their respective matches against Ipswich and the London City Lionesses at the King Power Stadium.

The hospitals charity is currently raising funds to create a parent lounge for the Children's Intensive Care Unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI).

Head of the charity Sunita Patel said the football club's involvement was "a Christmas wish come true".

She said: "We couldn't dream of exposure like that. It's an absolute honour that they have gifted that opportunity to us and to shine a spotlight on what we are trying to do for our local hospitals this Christmas.

"It means the world, it fills the staff and patients - who are also fans - with such joy to have a local cause being fronted on the shirts this weekend.

"We've had incredible support over the years and continue to work closely with the club, because the hospitals are there for everybody from our first breaths to our last and everything in between, and their fans are our patients and vice versa."

Currently the unit which provides critical care for children at LRI has just three bedrooms available to parents, which means some families have to sleep in waiting rooms, play areas or chairs, said the charity, without privacy or anywhere to store their belongings.

The £32,500 fundraising appeal aims to create a parent lounge with a kitchen, which would be open around the clock.

Ms Patel said: "It's urgent because at the moment we have parents with children in critical intensive care who don't have any private spaces where they can just get a rest, make a cup of tea and get a private moment if they need to.

"Parents are brushing their teeth in public toilets, not knowing where they're going to sleep - that's not because staff aren't there to support, it's because we don't have those spaces."

Leicester City said the "unique" shirts worn in the fixtures will be auctioned off with all profits donated to the charity.

It said: "Each shirt comes complete with match use detailing, player identification and the commemorative front-of-shirt branding, making them one-of-a-kind collector's items."

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