STOURBRIDGE-born football star Jude Bellingham has donated a signed shirt to raise funds for Dudley's Duncan Edwards Peace Field Project.
Black Country footballers Bellingham and Edwards made their full international debuts for England at Wembley in their teens 65 years apart.
Edwards was 18 when he scored for England in a 7-2 winning match over Scotland in 1955 and Bellingham was 17 when he scored for England and they won 3-0 against Northern Ireland at Wembley on November 12, 2020.
Jim Cadman, chairman of Duncan Edwards United, said: “Duncan is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and Jude is clearly destined for football super stardom too.
“We are very proud of their Black Country heritage and honoured that their names are linked with our project, which involves football pitches all over the world being twinned with the iconic 1914 Christmas Truce football match on Flanders Field in Belgium in World War One.”
The shirt signed by midfielder Jude, who plays for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, will be among items on show at a Memories and Memorabilia Football Fair at the Copthorne Hotel, Brierley Hill, on Sunday (November 13).
The event, running from 10am to 4pm, will showcase vintage football memorabilia presented by some of the country’s top dealers and collectors.
Admission is £10 and includes free autographs and photographs with guest players who will pose with visitors holding full size replicas of the FA Cup, the European Cup and the World Cup trophy. Children under 16 will be admitted free.
Guests will include Aston Villa’s 1982 European Cup winning captain Dennis Mortimer, Coventry City 1987 FA Cup winner Dave Bennett, West Bromwich Albion striker Bob Taylor plus cartoon legend Roy of the Rovers with his creator, artist Paul Trevillion.
Profits from the event will go to the Duncan Edwards Peace Field Project at The Dell Stadium, Brierley Hill.
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