Forest Green Rovers players will wear yellow laces this weekend against South Shields to demand an end to all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football and to remember lives lost to gambling.

The initiative, which falls on Addiction Awareness Week, has been organised by The Big Step, led by people harmed by gambling and part of Gambling with Lives, a charity set up by families bereaved by gambling-related suicide.  

Chairman Dale Vince said: “Gambling companies are exploiting football and football fans, making huge profits at the expense of people’s lives.

"Their overwhelming presence in our national sport is hyper-normalising an addictive harmful product, with only self-regulation to protect the millions of young fans exposed – this is something Forest Green Rovers stands against.  

“We will proudly wear yellow laces this weekend to reinforce our support for the campaign to end all gambling advertising in football.”