The Shirt 2010

The Symbol Of South Africa 2010

The Shirt 2010 is an initiative from Bjorn Heidelstrom that is going to play an important part at the fast-approaching South Africa 2010 World Cup.

Bjorn is cycling from Oslo to Cape Town and collecting signed football jerseys from all teams of all levels along the way. All these shirts will be be sewn together to form the world's largest signed football-shirt - a symbol of the unity of the football family and its solidarity with the plight of young refugees.

He says, "We are creating the world's largest football shirt - a shirt and a symbol that is sewn together by the signed club-shirts." The Shirt symbolises the "football family standing together and not forgetting the small ones."

Big clubs, little clubs and even fans who sign their own shirts can become a part of the one big shirt - all are welcome!

Bjorn's journey began in Oslo back on June 20 (2009) and he's already been through Scandinavia and the Baltic and the UK and Ireland and now he's heading down through Europe.

He'll be arriving in Spain on October 27 and his first port of call will be Barcelona where he'll be stopping off at Camp Nou to pick up a shirt and I'll be organising something with UE Sant Andreu.

How Can You Help?

Obviously, the whole idea is to get as many people involved as possible so we want you to spread the word and/or to donate a shirt.

For more up to date information about Bjorn's trip, check out his daily updated Shirt 2010 blog

You can also follow the thread on the Spain-Football Forum where I'll be posting photos of his trip through Spain and you can swap ideas with other Spanish football fans.

Spread The Word

Here's a Shirt 2010 template letter that you can copy and send as an email to your local club - however small.

Copy this text, tailor it to your needs and send it to your local club or to anyone you know who has football contacts

Hi xxxxxx

My name is xxxx.I have been a xxxxx supporter for x years and I would like to bring something to your attention that I think could interest and benefit the club.

I have a friend, Bjorn Heidenstrom, who is biking from Oslo to Cape Town. Nothing new in that. But he is doing something special - he's collecting signed football jerseys from clubs and countries of all sizes along the way. His goal is to make the world's largest jersey by sewing them all together and show it at FIFA 2010.

The jersey will represent the unity of the football family and the cause is to support refugees throughout the globe. He has the backing of the South African PSL and we are working on getting official approval from FIFA. The Norwegian Refugee Council are backing the overall cause.

So far on his wandering route he has collected many hundreds of shirts, from the likes of Man Utd, Barcelona and Liverpool to tiny local sides in Holland and Estonia. They get sent to HQ in Oslo - he doesn't quite have the legs to tow them all the way. Many people have helped get jerseys and his past life as a professional footballer has opened doors with many clubs.

I wonder therefore if there is any chance of getting a jersey from xxxx. I know it's a huge thing to ask but you and the club have a great history of humanitarian involvement and it would mean a huge boost to get a xxxxx jersey.

His English web site is www.theshirt2010.net and he is using the full range of digital media to build a community.

Have a look and please let me know what you think.

Best regards,

More About Bjorn Heidelstrom and The Shirt 2010

Bjorn Bjornstrom is ex-professional footballer with a long career in Norway and England (Leyton Orient). Since hanging up his boots, he has worked with football as a focus for marketing, media, values, Soccer Against Crime and Valerenga against racism.

Shirt 2010 already has the backing of the Norwegian Refugee Council and the South African Premier Soccer League and is hoping to get official recognition from FIFA over the coming weeks.

Along the route, he's picked up official support from a number of organisations, including the Irish Football Association, and whilst he's cycling through Spain, we hope to get more organisations on board and turn The Shirt 2010 into a symbol of solidarity for football fans around the world..

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