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Walking Cycling

Fans vs Dementia

Walk or cycle to a game this season and make a difference to families affected by dementia in your community.

Sign up

During the course of 90 minutes, memories are made – 25-yard screamers, dodgy penalties, crunching tackles, great saves and howlers.

During the course of 90 minutes, 30 people in the UK will develop dementia.

We’re calling on football fans across the UK to sign up for Fans vs Dementia this season. When you join our squad and organise your own football-based walk or bike ride, you’ll help ensure no one has to face dementia alone.

Sign up and get your free t-shirt

Pick your challenge

Champions League

Football icon t-shirt

Not for the faint-hearted! Pick an away ground to walk to – on your own or with some teammates.

Premier League/WSL

Person holding a banner icon

Make it a derby day for Dementia UK. Walk or cycle to your nearest rival’s home stadium.

Last game of the season 10k

Footballers icon

Get your football community together and join hundreds of other fans up and down the country walking a 10k route to their last game of the season.

Whichever challenge you choose, your fundraising will help families affected by dementia have the best life possible, for as long as possible.

What next?

  1. Sign up, receive a free t -shirt and get dedicated support from our friendly team.
  2. Plan, plan, plan! You’ll be sent lots of advice from someone who’s been there and done it.
  3. Start fundraising – we’ll email you all the inspiration you need.
  4. Complete your challenge, your way and feel proud of the difference you’re making.

Make sure your club and community are represented this season and help more families receive the life-changing support of a specialist dementia nurse.

Sign up and get your free t-shirt

Do it! It’s tough but it’ll be one of the best things you’ll ever do. The support from the football community, from clubs to fans, friends and family was phenomenal.

Manny Singh Kang, Dementia UK Volunteer Ambassador and Wolves fan who walked 125 miles from Molineux to Stamford Bridge

If you have raised money through Enthuse, the donations will come straight to us – so you don’t need to do anything.

If you have raised money offline, here’s how to pay it in:

Online: click here to pay in online (please remember to include the reference number from your pack so we know it’s from you).

Phone: call us on 020 8036 5380 to pay in by credit or debit card.

Post: send us a cheque made payable to Dementia UK using the Freepost envelope in your fundraising pack, or to 7th Floor, Dementia UK, One Aldgate, London EC3N 1RE.

Bank transfer: use the bank details in your pack (give us a call if you can’t find them) and include your unique reference number.

When we receive your donations, we’ll send you a certificate to thank you for your support.

If you have any questions about your fundraising or would like to talk about your challenge, please call the team on 020 8036 5440 or email us at  fundraising@dementiauk.org

Fans vs Dementia is Dementia UK’s first football fundraiser. It’s a great way to get your family, friends and football community together and raise vital funds for families facing dementia.

The walking or cycling challenge is based around football stadiums, but you can design and organise it to suit you – we’re here to support you all the way.

Pick your challenge difficulty, plan your route and fundraise as much as you can to support people living with dementia.

That’s up to you – you can take part at any point of the season.

Your t-shirt will be sent second class and can take up to 10 working days to arrive. If you need your t-shirt sooner, please get in touch by emailing fundraising@dementiauk.org or calling 020 8036 5380.

If your t-shirt hasn’t arrived after 10 working days, please get in touch.

If there’s anything else you need, please get in touch and we’ll see if we can help.

This is your challenge and you can do it your way – we’re delighted that you want to support us. If you need to use transport for some of your journey that’s fine – just make it clear to your supporters.

Register for Fans vs Dementia and set up your unique online fundraising page here. You can also collect cash donations and ask your supporters to fill in the sponsorship form.

You’ll be sent loads of advice on the best ways to fundraise and smash your target.

  • £15 could cover the telephone costs of five families calling our free national Dementia Helpline
  • £30 could fund a new dementia specialist Admiral Nurse in an acute hospital for an hour
  • £60 could pay for an Admiral Nurse to offer two hours of virtual clinics to families in crisis
  • £255 could fund in-depth specialist support for eight families contacting our Helpline
  • £1,125 could fund a new Admiral Nurse supporting people from under-served communities for a week

Every step you take or mile you cycle will help our nurses offer a lifeline to families facing dementia when they need it most.

It appears there may be a higher than expected number of ex-professional footballers from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s who have been diagnosed with dementia or other neurological conditions.

Whilst there is a growing body of evidence linking contact sports and neurological conditions like dementia and further research is ongoing, what is clear is that people with dementia and their families require specialist support after diagnosis and we at Dementia UK are focused on ensuring that every family has access to a specialist Admiral Nurse when they need one.

Dementia UK has appointed a Consultant Admiral Nurse for Sport and Dementia who works closely with the Admiral Nurses on our Helpline, clinics and in other healthcare settings. In addition to supporting referrals from our Helpline and clinics they also offer training and guidance on best practice in dementia care for people who have played sport and are seeking or are living with a diagnosis of dementia.