On Saturday 9th January 2010 in their game against Walsall, Southend United will create history by wearing purple shirts, instead of their traditional blue, to promote Rotary International's war against polio.

No football club has ever before highlighted this global campaign by wearing purple shirts, which on this day will bear the message "End Polio Now". The shirts will be auctioned after the match with all proceeds going to the "End Polio Now" fund.

Southend United main sponsor InsureandGo has kindly agreed to donate their shirt sponsorship to the cause for the match against the Saddlers.

The aim is to fill Roots Hall Stadium on this special day and create awareness and gain maximum media coverage for the worldwide campaign to finally end polio.

To encourage as many people to come along as possible, Southend United has kindly agreed that there are special prices for match tickets for students. Over 60 local schools have already been invited to join in.

Tickets for the match for the general public can be purchased through Rotary Clubs, with 25% sales going to the campaign.

Every £1 raised in this campaign will purchase five doses of the special anti-polio vaccine. These children will be protected against polio - forever.

The initiative is part of Rotary's national Thanks for Life campaign, that will see hundreds of Rotary clubs across Great Britain and Ireland linking up with schools, businesses, organisations and individuals to hold a range of fund-raising events to raise the £1 million target by Thanks For Life - Rotary Day, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 (Rotary's 105th birthday).

Polio is a crippling, and sometimes fatal, disease and still a very harrowing reality for children in parts of Africa and Asia and threatens children everywhere. It is highly virulent and only an air flight away from the UK.

Bryan Woodford, Rotary Club of Southend-on-Sea President said: "We are so close to stamping out polio and we hope this sporting event will increase awareness of the campaign and encourage more people to get behind the initiative. It is vital that we eradicate it from the four remaining endemic countries or the likelihood is that the disease will spread again to the countries which have been cleared. With the public's help we can destroy polio."

"Rotary has been involved in this fight for 25 years and the world is so close to being free from polio for good thanks to the joint hard work of organisations and governments. How fantastic for a town, individual, business or organisation to join the fight and be able to say, 'I helped to wipe out a disease for only the second time in history, after smallpox. I stopped children from dying - I helped change the world'."

The Rotary Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland have so far raised £10.5 million towards polio eradication.