The Premier League have declined a request from clubs that would allow them to wear their away shirts at home on Boxing Day after claiming the move would go against league rules against prioritising home jerseys.
On December 26, Liverpool are set to host Leeds United at Anfield and Shelter, a national homeless charity, created the #NoHomeKit initiative in order to raise awareness for those living without a safe home.
The Football League have already confirmed that they will allow clubs to support the campaign, but the Premier League did not adopt a similar stance.
A spokesperson for the Premier League said (via The Independent): “The Premier League receives a large number of requests from charities every season however we aren’t able to support all centrally. Clubs area entitled to support charitable causes, and we encourage clubs to do so, provided it is in compliance with Premier League rules.”
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has already taken to his Twitter account to voice his opinion on the decision.
Imagine refusing a request to raise money and awareness for homelessness . A Johnson like u-turn on its way if the clubs push hard ! https://t.co/afQIRL3ROw
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) November 9, 2021
Osama Bhutta, director of campaigns at Shelter, said (via The Independent): “We believe ‘home’ means everything. We want to use the positive power of football this Christmas, and our shared connection to ‘home’, to raise awareness of homelessness and what we can all do to fight it.”
⚽️It’s amazing to see so many teams, players and fans wanting to get the ball rolling with our #NoHomeKit campaign. Together we can do something special to fight the housing emergency. https://t.co/1xPPiaVFKc
— Shelter (@Shelter) November 9, 2021
It is extremely surprising to see the Premier League not wanting to promote awareness for such a serious issue.
Nobody should be homeless in today’s day of age and let’s hope the right decision will be reached soon.
Lets just stick to Football eh