Did you know that testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer to affect men aged between 15 and 44 – just longer than the average career span of a footballer!
The Keep Your Eye On The Ball campaign was launched in 2000, in association with The FA and The PFA, to raise awareness of male cancers, and funds towards our vital research within the football community.
Celebrating 10 years!
We are delighted to be celebrating our 10th year of the campaign and since 2000 there has been a whole host of fundraising and awareness activities taking place to encourage men to keep their eye on their balls. We're proud to say that we have raised over £380,000 so far to help Everyman stamp out male cancer. Over the last decade many high profile football players have been affected by male cancer - Neil Harris, Jason Cundy, Alan Stubbs, Craig Forrest, Ray Clemence, Matt Duke and John Hartson are just some of the players who have talked openly about their experiences, helping others realise how important it is for men to regularly check themselves.
England and Portsmouth goalie David James says, "Testicular cancer is the most common cancer to effect men between 20-35 years old, the average careen span of a footballer. The good news is though that if caught early enough, it is curable in 99% of cases. That's why it is important to Keep Your Eye On The Ball!"
Why is it so important?
The incidence of male cancer is rising rapidly, one man dies every hour from prostate cancer in the UK and testicular cancer has almost doubled in the last twenty years, yet very little is known about why this is and what causes them in the first place. Despite this, and the fact that it affects so many men in the UK, research into male cancer is severely under-funded and is ten years behind some other cancers.
Former Chelsea and spurs player Jason Cundy was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the height of his football career in 1997 as is a supporter of KYEOTB and a patron of the Everyman Campaign for Male Cancer