Five Premier League clubs will support homelessness charity Shelter’s #NoHomeKit campaign despite the league blocking an initiative for all top-flight sides to wear their away shirts at home on Boxing Day.
Shelter have confirmed Brentford, Brighton, Everton, Tottenham and Watford will help the charity through fundraising, matchday advertising and social media content, with almost 100 clubs in England and Wales involved in total.
Brighton boss Graham Potter spent a night sleeping rough last month to raise awareness of homelessness.
Last month the Premier League refused clubs permission to switch to their away strips under rule M22.1 of the league handbook, but it is understood the league was happy for clubs to support Shelter, or any other charity, in different ways.
Shelter’s director of campaigns Osama Bhutta said he was disappointed at the Premier League’s lack of “flexibility” on the subject.
The EFL raised no such objection to the initiative and Portsmouth, Salford, Sheffield United, Cardiff and Forest Green are among its clubs taking part.
The chairman of Forest Green, Dale Vince, said: “I’ve been homeless, I know what it’s like and so when Shelter asked if we’d support this brilliant campaign – you knew that we would.
“Britain is one of the richest nations in the world, but tens of thousands of our people have nowhere to live – that’s wrong. Changing the shirts we play in for one game is nothing, shame on the Premier League for preventing the top clubs from joining in.”
