The online auction is being held in memory of 18-year-old Samuel Priestley, from Rothley in Leicestershire, who was diagnosed with pilocytic astrocytoma aged 14 in 2018, after he began to suffer from headaches. Despite almost four years of intense operations and treatment, Samuel died in February 2022.
Samuel’s family later set up Samuel’s Promise, a Special Named Fund at CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association, which raises money for research into low-grade brain tumours and surgical advancements.
Samuel’s mum, Sharon, said:
We established Samuel's Promise with CCLG quite soon after Samuel died, largely driven by our friends wishing to do something positive in his name. The ‘promise’ part of the fund’s name refers to the promise that we made to him that we'd always continue to talk about him in everything that we do.
The fund has so far raised over £50,000 to support CCLG’s work through several events and challenges, many of which have been inspired by Samuel’s passions and interests.
The auction follows this trend, with its offering of 10 number 10 shirts also influenced by sports-mad Samuel. The talented footballer, who played for Mountsorrel Juniors and had trained with a Leicester City development side, wore number 10 when playing.
Sharon explained:
Samuel was full of energy and enjoyed all sports – cricket, tennis, athletics, swimming, and of course, futsal and football! As he got more serious about playing football, other activities had to be dropped so that he could concentrate his time and effort on the sport that he loved. After diagnosis, he even explored disability football and had trials on the England pathway. Whilst he knew that he couldn't get back to the level that he’d been playing, he also knew that football was what motivated him to be the best that he could be, and he choose to study sports coaching and development with the aim for a career in the sport.
Samuel with Sharon, Keith and sister Emily
Samuel’s dad, Keith, added: “The 'best' players wear the number 10 shirt, and at age five, when first being registered with the league and the boys were jostling for their favourite idol's number, Samuel was allocated 10.
“I was secretly already hoping for another legendary 10 to follow in the footsteps of my own idols, names that at that time, Samuel didn't even know about.”
World-cup winners Pele and Maradona are arguably the greatest players of all-time, and Sharon said their signed shirts are expected to attract significant interest.
Other shirts being auctioned also include shirts worn by a raft of England football internationals, such as former Leicester City favourite James Maddison, Everton star Jack Grealish, former Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford, and Nottingham Forest forward Morgan Gibbs-White.
And, for rugby fans, a shirt of former England and Leicester Tigers player, Toby Flood, is also being auctioned.
Sharon said:
We’re thrilled with the final list [of shirts] and to have both Pele and Maradona in the auction is beyond what we could've hoped for, together with some more recent number 10s. We really hope that the auction is a success, and we raise as much money as possible. We’re giving fans the chance to bid on a special item while also making a real impact in the fight against cancer.
The auction is now live and running until October 8, which would have been Samuel’s 22nd birthday.