Buying a gaudy Christmas jumper has never been easier, but how to stand out from the crowd? As ever, the answer lies with Gareth Southgate.
The England manager’s team united the country at the World Cup in Russia, reaching a tournament semi-final for the first time since Euro 96.
And while football didn’t quite come home in the summer, Christmas can – with this marvellous festive knit from notjust clothing.
Mike Harding, 26, from Manchester, is the founder of notjust clothing. The company produced a Jeremy Corbyn jumper in 2017 that helped raise £7,000 for a multinational charity, and now its hoping Southgate can help replicate that feat.
“Like the rest of the nation, England’s run this World Cup captured our hearts – it was all we talked about this summer,” Harding told the Press Association.
“‘It’s coming home’ was like a song we couldn’t get out of our heads.
“Where I live there are a lot of homeless people and I saw a disconnect between that awe-inspiring chant and the amount of homeless people on the streets.
“I got the guys together that had helped design the Corbyn jumper last year, and we decided to make a product that channelled the positive sentiment from England’s amazing World Cup run into a way of helping people.”
The company are donating well engineered, appropriate jumpers to the homeless for each jumper they sell, and will give some of the profits to the charity Kicking Off, which provides support for children through sports tournaments and much more.
While the Southgate sweater has already sold out, Harding said there is more on the way – and he hopes one man in particular will find the jumper to his liking.
“For those that missed out first time round, don’t panic: we’re in the factory re-running them as we speak,” said Harding.
“We’re hoping that the gaffer sees the jumper and fancies one for himself. I think that really would make Christmas come home – but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
To buy your own Southgate top, visit here.
