A DESIGNER t-shirt signed by some of the world’s most famous football players has been put up for auction to help save an ailing charity.

The Emporio Armani shirt was worn by Eddie Mitchell, former chairman of AFC Bournemouth, when the club hosted a friendly game against Real Madrid on July 21 last year.

Now it’s up for auction on eBay to raise funds for the Dorset Blind Association, which launched a last-minute fundraising push at the weekend to save support groups for young blind people.

The shirt was signed by a number of Real Madrid players and staff including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Luka Modric, manager Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane as well as Bournemouth’s Marc Pugh and Steve Fletcher.

After the match it was also sent to Milan and signed by the Italian designer Giorgio Armani.

Eddie said: “I’ve had the shirt hanging in my wardrobe and I wanted to use it for a good cause, so when I read about the Dorset Blind Association’s plight in the Daily Echo I saw my chance to do something to help.”

The charity’s fundraising manager, Jaya Da Costa, said: “We were really pleased that he has taken an interest in a smaller charity because they often get over-looked, especially when companies want more in return for their donation these days, so they tend to go for the bigger, national charities.”

Chris Ford, 51, a volunteer helper for the charity, said: “They gave me my life back, so I wanted to give something back which is why I have been a volunteer since 2008. I think this is a nice gesture and shows that people do care.”