FC Barcelona join charity auction of jerseys to raise funds for La Palma

FC Barcelona have joined a charity auction of football shirts to raise money for the Canary Island of La Palma which was hit by a volcanic eruption in September. 

All 42 two team from the Spanish First and Second Divisions are taking part in the fund raising initiative launched by La Liga in collaboration with two football clubs from the Canary Islands, UD Las Palmas and CD Tenerife. The aim is that during the next weekend of La Liga Santander and La Liga Smart Bank fixtures. The money raised will go to El Cabildo de La Palma (The island's local council) to cover medium to long term necessities for those affected by the eruption.

The initiative consists of a virtual charity auction via the MatchWornShirt, platform which has extensive experience in just this type of project having worked with more than 160 football club across Europe, including 14 from La Liga. The objective of the auction is to raise as much money as possible via the sale of signed shirts from the players selected to play across the top two divisions in Spain for the next round of fixtures. 

The campaign begins on 15 October and will have its greatest visibility in the Canary Island derby between UD Las Palmas and CD Tenerife on Saturday 16 October, kick of 6.15pm CEST. Each auction will begin when each game begins and will last 20 days (until 3 November) during which time a campaign to promote the initiative will take place on a national and international scale. 

The participation of clubs from Spain's top two divisions has been crucial in the attempt to raise as much money as possible for the La Palma local council and will be of great help to all those affected by the volcanic eruption on the island. 

Professional football stands by La Palma

Form the moment just over three weeks ago the Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting, many clubs have shown their support for those affected through a variety of ways such as charity auctions or messages of support on social media from high profile players such as Pedri, David Silva and Andrés Iniesta. 

The clubs from the Canary Islands has been the most active with CD Tenerife putting on sale a special first team shirt containing the slogan "Somos La Palma" (We are La Palma). UD Las Palmas auctioned first team shirts and raised more than 6,000 euros with Atlético Madrid doing the same. Granadilla Tenerife women's team organised a mixed match with UD Las Palmas to raise money and CD Mirandés donated the gate money from their recent fixture against SD Eibar.