Standard Chartered hands Liverpool FC shirt sponsorship spot to Seeing is Believing

London/Liverpool, 8^th May 2012 – In a rare move, Standard Chartered, the main sponsor of Liverpool FC, will replace its logo on the team’s home shirts with the logo of Seeing is Believing, its global charitable initiative aimed at tackling avoidable blindness.

Seeing is Believing will gain international exposure as Liverpool FC wear the limited edition shirts when they play Chelsea, in their final home game of the English Premier League season.

This will be the first time that Liverpool FC has displayed the logo of a charitable initiative on the front of the team’s iconic red shirt. The limited edition shirts will be signed by the Liverpool players after the match and offered to fans across Standard Chartered’s international network to raise money for Seeing is Believing. Every dollar raised will be matched by the Bank.

“The Liverpool-Chelsea game will be viewed by millions globally, making this a great opportunity to raise awareness of Seeing is Believing and avoidable blindness,” said Richard Meddings, Group Finance Director at Standard Chartered and Chairman of Seeing is Believing. “When we began our sponsorship, we knew that Standard Chartered and Liverpool FC would be a perfect match, but now Seeing is Believing and Liverpool FC are proving to be the perfect match too. All money raised through the shirts will go directly to delivering eye care projects in underprivileged communities. Through simple treatments and affordable surgeries, we can transform the lives of both children and adults, improving not just the lives of those treated but the lives of their families too.”

There are 39 million blind people worldwide, yet in eight out of ten cases, blindness can be prevented or treated. The majority of avoidable blindness – 90 per cent of cases – occurs in the developing world affecting economic productivity in communities where Standard Chartered operates. As one of the most cost-effective health interventions (cataract operations cost as little as USD30), tackling avoidable blindness was identified as an issue where Standard Chartered could make a clear impact.

Since becoming official shirt sponsor of Liverpool FC, Standard Chartered has partnered with the Club to raise awareness of Seeing is Believing and the issues of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. Both worked together to promote World Sight Day last year, and have organised soccer clinics for visually impaired children across the Bank’s markets in Asia Africa and the Middle East, as well as special half-time activities for visually impaired children from Liverpool.

Ian Ayre, Liverpool Managing Director, added: “Seeing is Believing is a fantastic cause and we are delighted to be using the LFC home shirt tonight to raise awareness for this initiative. Alongside Standard Chartered, we too want to encourage fans across the world to learn about Seeing is Believing’s efforts and hopefully make a donation.”

After the match fans will be able to bid for one of the limited edition shirts at www.ebay.co.uk/perfectmatch.

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