Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Premier League heart shaped badges: Why are players wearing hearts on their kits?
Premier League matches resumed this week but why are players wearing heart-shaped badges on their shirts?
Man City: Guardiola says team ‘aren’t ready’ to return
Premier League football returned with Aston Villa and Sheffield United playing the first game of the restart. All remaining fixtures are being played behind closed doors after a three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Why are Premier League players wearing hearts on their kits?
Players will be wearing heart-shaped logos on their shirts to pay tribute to frontline NHS workers in the fight against the coronavirus.
In April, Premier League stars teamed up to create an initiative called #PlayersTogether to raise money for the NHS amid the pandemic.
The top-flight had previously proposed a 30 per cent wage cut but talks with the Professional Footballers' Association did not arrive at a resolution.
READ MORE: Premier League live stream - all the FREE to watch matches
However, a statement from the group behind #PlayersTogether read: "Over the course of the last week we, as a group of Premier League players, have held numerous talks together with the vision of creating a contribution fund that can be used to distribute money to where it's needed most in this COVID-19 crisis; helping those fighting for us on the NHS frontline as well as other key areas of need.
"This is a critical time for our country and for our NHS, and we are determined to help in any way that we can.
"We can confirm that after extensive conversations between a huge number of players from all Premier League clubs we have created our own collective player initiative, #PlayersTogether, and have partnered with NHS Charities Together (NHSCT) in order to assist them in generating and distributing funds quickly and efficiently to where they are needed most."
A minute’s silence will also be observed before the first matches to honour coronavirus victims.
Two more reasons to wear the Arsenal shirt with pride.
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 17, 2020
������������ pic.twitter.com/jQO4FhIlpk
More than 41,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the UK.
Earlier this month, #PlayersTogether launched a fundraising raffle called ’Shirts for Heroes’.
The campaign features signed shirts from 500 Premier League stars, with all proceeds going to NHS charities.
A statement read: “As players, we have been determined as a group to help in any way we can.
“That’s why we established #PlayersTogether to raise much-needed funds for front line carers through NHS Charities Together.
“This is a player led-initiative, working together collaboratively across all clubs and we are delighted to team up with eBay to offer our signed shirts in the Shirts for Heroes campaign.
“We hope this is something all fans up and down the country can get involved in and help us raise money to make a difference for the real heroes of this crisis.”
Although no fans will be present when the Premier League restarts, some clubs will be giving their supporters the chance to appear on a live video wall that will be streamed into stadiums.
The move is part of a plan to minimise the impact of games having to be played behind closed doors due to the social distancing implications of the pandemic.
The live video feeds, which will feature 16 supporters from each club, will be made available to broadcasters and to clubs for use on big screens during games.
Tottenham were among one of the first teams to respond, confirming the video wall would be in place for their top-flight resumption against Manchester United on Friday.
A club statement read: "We are giving supporters the chance to be part of a live video fan wall during our first ever behind-closed-doors Premier League match against Manchester United on Friday night.
"Spurs Inside is another first for the club, streamed live on our giant video screens in the stadium bowl intermittently throughout the match so that the players will know fans are watching and cheering them on.
"We are providing a select number of season ticket holders and executive members - our regular match attenders - the opportunity to be part of this unique experience."