Elliott: Fans funding charity is vital

The Foxes legend makes an impassioned plea on the latest Non League Show podcast for the game to get behind the online campaign fan-funding platform Tifosy is running to raise £10,000 for the men’s health charity.

Elliott, who kicked off his career as a 16-year-old defender in Epsom & Ewell’s first team before being spotted by Charlton Athletic, lent his support on Friday when the free podcast was released for download on audioBoom, the world’s leading online audio platform.

Prostate Cancer UK affects one in eight men in their lifetimes, making it the second most common cancer in men and Elliott believes the charity’s efforts to beat the disease don’t get the attention they deserve.

Pictured recently alongside a fan, the 47-year-old tells the podcast: “It’s vital that people are made aware of Prostate Cancer UK because as we all know it’s an illness that men do like to sweep under the carpet and they don’t address the issues.

“The more people are aware about it, they hear about it and talk about it, the more those barriers will come down and people will be able to get effective treatment early enough. Ultimately, you can’t ask for a better prize than that.”

Elliott has fond memories of his early days at Epsom and Ewell before going on to play for former Grantham Town manager Martin O’Neil at the Foxes.

He added: “It’s the lifeblood of football across the nation really isn’t it, Non-League Football, so many people are involved in it, purely for the love and the passion they have for the game. You’ve got that affinity and allegiance and it’s nice to have that affection."

With a week to go to Non League Day on Saturday 3 September, Tifosy are also offering new rewards this weekend to incentivise fans to donate after former Chelsea striker and Tifosy ambassador Gianluca Vialli lent his support.

As well as signed merchandise and official Non-League Day clothing, every team entering the five-a-side tournament on offer at the FA’s national football centre at St George’s Park will receive a signed Gianluca Vialli shirt dedicated to them.

Tickets to see Barcelona play Las Palmas at the Nou Camp are also up for grabs and every contributor to the campaign will also go into a draw to win a seat in the studio for a future recording of the Non League Show.

The online fundraising drive was launched at the start of the season with the backing of the EVO-STIK League Southern, EVO-STIK Northern Premier League, Ryman League and National League as part of a nationwide Non-League effort.

To help the EVO-STIK League Southern's 68 clubs and their counterparts get the fundraising message out, Tifosy have been providing exclusive content for their social media feeds. Anyone hoping to get involved should look out for the latest wave if texts, images and tweets which went out to clubs for the holiday weekend.

For more information and to take part, head to www.tifosy.com/nld16. Alternatively, follow the campaign on Twitter @tifosy and on Facebook at /tifosyofficial.

Teams hoping to enter the 5-a-side tournament at St George's Park should visit: www.tifosy.com/nld16#reward/393.

For more information on Prostate Cancer UK visit: www.prostatecanceruk.org.

* The long-running weekly show Non-League switched to a new Friday home on AudioBoom and iTunes for the start of the season after BBC Radio decided not to recommission it after a decade covering Non-League, six years on BBC London before four more seasons on BBC 5Live.

As a result of the switch, a free and easily downloadable embedded player is now available for clubs to host the show on their own websites while fans can share content elsewhere on Google Play, Stitcher, Facebook, Twitter and their own websites and mobile apps.

To listen to the Non-League Show visit audioboom.com or download each week's new show on iTunes.