Cancer Kickers Unveiled As New Memphis 901 FC Jersey Sponsor

In a special event at the Medicine Factory in Downtown Memphis on Wednesday night, Memphis 901 FC unveiled both their new home jersey and the sponsor on the front of it. That sponsor is the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club.

Established in 2016 by Memphian Chris Clothier, Cancer Kickers has a mission to provide comfort, community, and connections to children fighting cancer. Since then, the organization has shipped personalized soccer kits to over 2,500 children in all 50 states and 23 countries around the world.  According to Clothier those kits contain a bunch of cool stuff for the kids: a jersey, a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, socks, slides, a soccer ball, a canteen, a hat, a blanket, and a backpack.

The new COO of Memphis 901 FC, Jay Mims, was thrilled to have so many people turn up for the event.

“Thank you guys for coming to this wonderful event for all the season ticket members, the corporate partners, and all the fans and supporters. Thank you. It means a lot for us. This is a big night.”

He continued.

“The front of a jersey on a soccer team is super, super important. It’s across our chest, it’s synonymous with our brand, it travels everywhere with is across the country. I think this partnership is going to be a gamechanger for 901 FC and the city of Memphis. And this partner is a hometown hero making a global impact. Most of us in this room, unfortunately, have been touched by cancer. When it strikes at an early age, it’s even more challenging. We wanted to involve a brand that we could all be proud of for our club. And we’re going to show the community what 901 is all about.”

After a short video presentation, Clothier took the stage and spoke.

“When we first started talking a few weeks back with Jay, I distinctly remember going home and telling my wife Michelle that there was something different. There was something different about first sitting down and talking to him about 901 FC and sharing our story about the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club” he said. “We weren’t talking about this, we were just sharing.

And the more that he learned about the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club and our mission to have impact across the globe and the way we started in a garage with a hundred kits of varying sizes in boxes with no idea what to do or how to give them away to anybody and the first year I believe we gave away one kit. It started with one. We didn’t stop. We kept sharing our story and we kept trying to get out the mission that we were on which was to create a community for these beautiful kids that are battling cancer and their families.”

Before the night was over, Head Coach Stephen Glass gave a few words and had the players come up to take pictures with the kids and their new jerseys. He felt that the love the Cancer Kickers organization has for Memphis will be reflected by the team on the field this season.

“Firstly, thanks very much to Chris and his family for all the work they’ve been doing in the community and especially for the children. He said something there that our players can speak to in that you love Memphis. And I can tell you the players that come here to play for this team love Memphis too. And it’s going to mean more having this on our chest now. We’re going to represent this city with a little bit greater pride than we already did. So thank you for your work, yourself and your family.”

“We’ve had a brilliant preseason so far. I know a lot of the fans and a lot of the Bluff City Mafia are here for the night” he said to many cheers. “So thank you for your continued support.”

The first opportunity for Memphis 901 FC to wear these new jerseys with Cancer Kickers as the new sponsor will be this Saturday, March 9th down at AutoZone Park at 3pm as they begin their sixth season in the USL Championship against the Las Vegas Lights. The next opportunity will be the following Saturday, March 16th down at AutoZone park against Indy Eleven with a kickoff time to be determined.

Fans can still purchase season tickets from the team, in addition to being able to buy single game tickets.