Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall inspires South Shields' limited edition community shirt

Thirlwall, the club’s honorary president, worked with North East illustrator and designer James Dixon to devise the shirt, which spearheads a charitable campaign.

All profits raised through sales of the item – which celebrates all that is good about the town of South Shields – will be donated by the club to the charity Cancer Connections, of which Thirlwall is a long-term supporter and patron.

South Shields FC is a progressive, forward-thinking club with ambition to climb the football pyramid, but its broader aim is to be seen as an integral and positive part of the town in which it sits.

Like Thirlwall, the club is proud to represent South Shields, and recognises the positive difference football can bring to people’s lives.

Club chairman Geoff Thompson said: “We hope to build on the rich history of our great club and strive to create something really special for the town and everyone connected.

“The success of our football club stretches far beyond simply winning on a Saturday.

“We want to positively impact people’s lives, by offering hope and excitement through our vision.

“We strive to create an environment where people feel they belong and we want to support and champion the ongoing great work of others across the town.

“This community shirt was the brainchild of our president, Jade Thirlwall, who wanted to work with local people to celebrate the town and in doing so will raise essential money for a local charity close to her heart.

“When the idea first sparked we expressed our delight to be involved.”

The football club has kindly agreed to donate all club profits raised from shirt sales to Cancer Connections, a South Shields-based charity where Thirlwall is a patron alongside Dame Margaret Barbour and Paralympic gold medallist Josef Craig MBE.

The club’s players wore the shirt ahead of Wednesday’s game against Sunderland’s Under-23s at 1st Cloud Arena, with Thirlwall's nephew Karl walking the team out as mascot.

Thirlwall said: “Creating the limited edition community shirt for South Shields FC has been incredibly special for me.

“As honorary president of the club, I believe my role is to use my platform to put the club and South Shields on the map and show the world how proud we are as a town and community. The shirt reflects that very notion.

“With the proceeds going directly to local charity Cancer Connections, this is a shirt which every fan can wear with absolute pride knowing that by doing so they will be helping someone locally who is struggling with the devastating impact of cancer.

“It was important for me to bring on board a North East artist to help me design the shirt.

“I’ve been a fan of James’ (Lines Behind) work for quite some time and I knew he’d be the perfect fit in helping me create this special shirt.

“Together we’ve created a shirt that really captures South Shields and its community spirit - using the club’s signature colours in the artwork we incorporated many of the town’s landmarks and things we are most proud of.

“Support South Shields FC, support the town, and wear this Limited Edition shirt with pride!”

The work of James Dixon, from Lines Behind, can be seen across the North East and beyond.

From coffee cup sleeves to huge wall art displays, his work is never far away.

He hopes this will be the start of long-lasting relationship with the town and the football club, building on his already positive relationship with Thirlwall.

He said: “This was a huge opportunity for me to work with the football club and Jade, and for me there was no better way than to put my signature Lines Behind stamp on it.

“For me, the shirt is everything and more. We want this to be about the community and the town.

“We both saw it as an opportunity to shout about the landmarks and the people, and how we can grow together as one.

“I have a great feeling this limited edition shirt will be well received by not only the lovers of football but people far and wide who see it as a collector’s item.

“My bond and working relationship with Jade and the club, especially Colin Docherty, has been incredible.

“Jade has been really supportive of my work and the club has shared the same passion.

“I urge everyone to shout about it, and hope kids, teenagers, all the lads and lasses local to the area, and all the Sanddancers far and wide wear this shirt with great pride.”

Cancer Connections is due to be the beneficiary of successful shirt sales during this campaign, with the club wanting to support the charity’s ongoing work within the local community.

Based on Harton Lane in South Shields, Cancer Connections provides advice and support to cancer patients, carers and families with the aim of making the turbulent journey a little easier for everyone involved.

The charity recognises the importance of building and maintaining a close community of support for anyone affected by the disease.

Charity manager Deborah Roberts said: “It’s amazing that the football club is prepared to donate all of the profits from the sales of this brilliant shirt to the charity.

“As all charities have found, it has been extremely difficult for us to raise funds in the ways we usually would during the pandemic, so to be boosted by an initiative like this is a huge blessing.

“Jade is an incredible patron for our charity and ambassador for the football club and town of South Shields. This is just the latest example of the remarkable support she provides us.

“Anyone who buys this shirt will directly help us serve individuals and families suffering from cancer and its after-effects.

“We’re proud to be associated with this campaign and can’t wait to see lots of people wearing the shirt in South Shields and beyond.”

The shirt will be available to buy from 4pm on Friday 29th October and will be priced at £32 for children and £38 for adults.