Devoted Man United fan auctions signed shirt for charity

Sophie and Man United players

Welwyn resident and avid football fan, Sophie Constable, came up with an idea to combine her love for the great sport and fundraising by organising a silent auction of a signed Manchester United shirt in aid of charity CAFOD.

As a member of United's Disabled Supporters' Association (MUDSA), Sophie, 29, was lucky enough to attend MUDSA's Christmas Party at Old Trafford and meet her footballing heroes.

Far from being star-struck when she met the team - Sophie got to work asking all the players present to sign the shirt, which she had bought with her own savings.

Instead of keeping the shirt for herself, Sophie decided to auction off the shirt - signed by 24 of the first-team squad - to fundraise for international development charity CAFOD's work in Africa.

Sophie said: "I wanted to do this because it's about putting other people before yourself and because I love Africa so much."

This is not the first time that Sophie has shown her solidarity with the world's poorest communities.

After being a faithful altar server at her parish, Holy Family, Welwyn Garden City, for the past 20 years, Sophie has given up her time and has felt inspired to raise awareness of CAFOD's work in her local community.

Sophie's commitment to the work of CAFOD is well established -supporting many appeals over the years through raffles and auctions. She has raised money for the Boxing day tsunami and Ethiopia food crisis appeal.

Tony Sheen, CAFOD's representative in Welwyn, said: "We are very grateful for Sophie's support in buying and auctioning the shirt - it is such a wonderful and generous act, that will truly help many people around the world.

"I would also like to say a big thank you to Holy Family CAFOD group for your ongoing support of both CAFOD and of Sophie's fundraising events."

You can enter the silent auction by contacting Bridie Nash at bridie.nash96@gmail.com

Find out more about CAFOD's work at: https://cafod.org.uk/