AN OXFORD football team has shown its support for a national sight loss charity by printing its logo on their new kit.

Summertown United under-17s, which plays in the Oxfordshire Invitation Youth League, is supporting the Macular Society after a plea from one of the player’s mums.

Lisa Morgan, whose son Ned, 16, plays for the team, is an optometrist in Kidlington and managed to secure funding from suppliers Essilor for the new shirts.

The eyecare company gave £600 from its marketing budget towards the shirts, which promote the Macular Society.

Mrs Morgan, from Summertown, has been following the team since Ned started playing football 10 years ago for the club’s under-sevens side.

She said: “For the last couple of years I have been helping the manager with the admin side of things, sending emails and telling people what’s going on with matches.

“We were looking for a new sponsor and I chose the society because they do so much to help and give people great treatment.

“We asked Essilor if it was willing to support the society and luckily it was more than happy to.”

Macular disease causes a loss of central vision, and people with an advanced form of the disease may have difficulty reading, driving or recognising faces.

Mrs Morgan trained at the Oxford Eye Hospital before taking over an optometry practice with husband Andrew nine years ago.

The 47-year-old said: “It is important that people do not hide away when they have eye problems but instead should make sure they get it sorted.”

Essilor has provided sponsorship funding for the next two seasons.

The team, which has played in the Oxford Mail Boys League for several years, won the league’s fair play award last year after wearing multi-coloured laces to support an anti-homophobia campaign.

Team manager Tim Pears, who is also an Oxford-based author, said: “It’s great that we’ve got that sponsor and we are really proud of it.

“It was very big of the company to give us the money without having their own names on the shirt.”

Mr Pears, who has coached the side for 10 years, said the inspiration for the idea also came from Spanish side FC Barcelona, who have previously printed the children’s charity Unicef on their shirts.

The Macular Society is the national charity for anyone affected by central vision loss.

It provides free information and support to improve and ensure that sufferers receive help for their condition.

Essilor, based in Bristol, supplies varifocal contact lenses to opticians in the UK.