ALTRINCHAM Football Club's players will throw their weight behind the battle against cancer on Saturday by wearing cancer awareness shirts for their Vanarama National League game with Bromley at The J.Davidson Stadium (3pm).

It is the second successive season Alty have set aside a day to raise funds for cancer charities after kit supplier Ian Senior produced a set of pink shirts against FC Halifax Town last March in an initiative that generated nearly £2,500 for St. Ann's Hospice, Cheadle.

The club are already well on their way to at least matching that figure, following a positive response to news that the League have sanctioned SKkits owner and Alty goalkeeping coach Senior's request for the players to wear special purple shirts against Bromley.

Over £1,500 has already been pledged or raised, in the form of bids for individual players' shirts and orders for replicas, and Senior said: 'There are still a few players' shirts remaining, and bids for them or orders for replicas can still be made via the club (0161 928 1045).

'It was great to generate so much for St.Ann's Hospice in Cheadle, which covers the Altrincham area, and it struck me it would be worth staging another fund-raising day, because quite a few people connected with the club are either suffering or have suffered from the disease.

'Daft as it may sound, I Iost my pet dog to cancer just before Christmas. She was like my baby, so it has affected me personally. She was a massive part of my life.

'I just thought it would be a good idea to replicate last year's venture and raise as much as we possibly can for the battle against an illness that seems to affect so many people. This time, the money will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust, and it would be great to see as many people as possible at the ground on Saturday, offering their support."