Sutton United Supporting The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity

To mark the start of an exciting new relationship between Sutton United and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, four Sutton United first team players, captain Craig Eastmond, Sam Hart, Louis John and Rob Milsom, visited The Royal Marsden’s Oak Centre for Children and Young People in Sutton earlier this month.

The players were also joined by Rob Milsom’s younger brother Nick, who was treated for Leukaemia at the hospital in 1995 when he was only three years old.

Rob commented: “It means so much to me and my family the work that they do here at The Royal Marsden, especially thinking about my brother Nick who was affected at such a young age and owes so much to the fantastic staff here.”

The players met with more than twenty children and young adults, speaking with them one-to-one and gifting them signed Sutton United shirts.

Louis, Rob and Sam also took part in some fun football games with the children, and the positive impact of the visit for patients was clear to see.

Louis said: “You could see how much it meant to these young kids to have us there visiting from the big smiles on their faces.”

Sam added: “It really brightened up their day. For us players, it feels great to be able to give something back to these kids who have had such a difficult start to life. Everyone was really impressed with Louis’ keepy-uppy and ball balancing skills! He did get nutmegged on the goal line a couple of times!”

As part of the relationship between The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Sutton United, the club will be offering young patients the chance to be included in the excitement of match day as they walk out with the team as honorary Mascots.

Amy Mullins, Head of Community Fundraising at The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, said: “We are delighted to be working with Sutton United and are really grateful to those at the club who have made this memorable experience possible for these young patients. The club’s support will also help to ensure The Royal Marsden continues to provide the very best treatment and care and develop new treatments that help cancer patients around the world.”

The club will also be launching a special, aubergine-coloured shirt, with £3 from the sale of each shirt to be donated to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to support its vital work. This will give Sutton fans and the wider local community the opportunity to support this brilliant cause and help to raise awareness of all the wonderful work they do.

This new special edition kit will be worn for Sutton’s home game on 23rd March 2024 versus Accrington Stanley in partnership with O’Neill’s, and could replace the green away kit for the forthcoming 2024/25 season.