MND Scotland to continue as Hearts shirt sponsor

Heart of Midlothian Football Club confirms that MND Scotland will continue as its front of shirt partner for season 2023/24.

MND Scotland was introduced to the famous maroon jersey in 2021 as part of an innovative two-year sponsorship with Dell Technologies due to the charity’s strong ties to the Hearts family after the tragic passing of Scottish Cup-winning captain Marius Žaliūkas, who lost his life to motor neuron disease (MND) in 2020.

In the two years that have followed, the club and its supporters have undertaken a series of awareness and fundraising initiatives that support MND Scotland’s work improving the lives of those living with MND and contributing to groundbreaking research. Since the inception of the partnership, over £130,000 has been raised. Most recently, at the club’s designated MND Day, Hearts and Celtic players wore unique MND Scotland warm up jerseys and supporter donations, along with a significant contribution from the Celtic Foundation, which helped to raise in excess of £40,000 to support the charity’s work.

Andrew McKinlay, Chief Executive Officer of Heart of Midlothian Football Club, said: “We are immensely proud to be able to continue our relationship with MND Scotland. It is a partnership that has captured the imagination of our supporter base and engaged them on an unprecedented scale.

“Our original partnership was an innovative way of securing sponsorship funding from a global giant of the tech industry and I’m delighted to confirm that this new agreement, delivered in partnership with benefactors, will provide the club with an even more substantial source of income.

“The initial link up, when announced two years ago, was very, very warmly received by our fans and their backing of the various fundraising campaigns we have run jointly has been astounding, so we thank them for that and welcome their continued support.

“We recognise that football clubs have the power to make a positive impact in their communities. Our partnership with MND Scotland is one such example of that, and we will continue to use our platform to shine a light on good causes.”

Rachel Maitland, MND Scotland’s CEO, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue this partnership with Heart of Midlothian Football Club throughout the 2023/24 season. Working with Hearts gives us an invaluable opportunity to spread awareness of this devastating terminal illness and seeing the way the club’s supporters have embraced the cause has been remarkable.

“MND Scotland was founded 42 years ago by a lifelong Hearts fan, John Macleod, and this partnership is a continued reminder of the strong link between John’s legacy with the charity and the club.

“Since our partnership began in 2021, Hearts and its supporters have raised more than £130,000 to help drive ground-breaking MND research and has enabled us to ‘make time count’ for people living with MND in Scotland right now.”

Feel inspired by this announcement? You can help to make time count for people affected by MND here. For more ways to get involved, please visit us here.