Notts County Football Club will be helping raise awareness of M.E. later this year after making Action for M.E. one of the club’s official shirt sponsors for the new season.

Action for M.E. will have their logo on the team’s home and away shirts throughout September after sponsorship was donated by Martyn Kelk, whose relative Alice has lived with M.E. herself.

A spokesman for Notts County FC said: “We are especially proud to welcome the charity Action for M.E, whose sponsorship has been donated by Martyn Kelk.

“Martyn has been a key sponsor of the club for a number of years and this season wanted to continue his support in a different way. We applaud his generosity.”

Sonya Chowdhury, Chief Executive of Action for M.E., said: “Recently, Alice Kelk, who had ME, a neurological illness affecting 35m people worldwide, wrote to us. She and her family are lifelong Notts County supporters. After prior support from Action for M.E, the family are sponsoring Notts Co on our behalf.

“M.E. is a hidden illness. At least one in 250 people in the UK have it; one in four so ill they are house or bedbound for many years. They are hidden; not seen; too ill to go out. The number of people with ME in E Midlands alone would fill the 19,800 capacity stadium. Notts Co sponsorship creates much-needed profile of ME; our logo on their shirts, a reminder to all that people with M.E. need help. Our services are often described as a lifeline to people isolated and alone, but we need to do more; and we can, with Notts County’s help. We've been welcomed into their family with an unbelievable level of commitment and passion to change lives, through football!”

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