Young Football Fan’s Shirt Design Brought To Life By Local Care Home

A young football fan’s vision for a shirt design has been brought to life after he was announced the winner of a competition run by a care home.

Ahead of England’s Lionesses seeking to emulate their male counterparts by winning the World Cup this summer, Signature at Hendon Hall ran a competition among residents and the local community encouraging submissions of football shirt designs.

The winning design came from 8-year-old, Kyan Popat, whose shirt matched the same purple as the company’s colour concept, with a striking gold lightning bolt on the front. Kyan’s shirt design was then brought to life by the care home to mark his victory.

To mark Kyan’s win, the youngster and his classmates from Orion Primary School were invited to the care home for a presentation. The shirt will now be framed and will take pride of place in the home’s Bar 66.

Kyan’s shirt adds to the home’s impressive connection to the beautiful game, having played host to the 1966 England World Cup winning team, who stayed at the home throughout the tournament.

To further commemorate Kyan’s design victory, and continue the home’s proud football heritage, residents at the care home were treated to witnessing the awards ceremony and joining in the activities, which included football in the garden and mini golf in the care home’s Othello Hall.

Kyan Popat, said: “I am so happy that I designed a football top and Signature created it into an actual jersey! I like it so much and feel incredible right now.”

David Speller, Maintenance Manager at Signature at Hendon Hall, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Kyan and his teammates to the home, and to see Kyan’s shirt take shape. It will go down as a classic!”

“Seeing our residents and younger members of the community enjoy time together is richly rewarding. These visits are so beneficial to both generations.

“We will all be cheering on the Lionesses from Hendon Hall, who can count on our support which truly comes from fans of all ages!”

Rachel Shear, Co-Head at Orion Primary School, said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to support their winning classmate and to also chat and engage with the residents. At The Orion, we say our pupils are Kindness Kids and this was a chance to show this within the local community.