Soccer-Aston Villa show charitable face of English football

By Martyn Herman

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Premier League club Aston Villa have turned their back on big-money shirt sponsors for next season and will instead display the name of a local children's hospice that they support.

The club's philanthropic stance is the culmination of a two-year relationship with the Acorns Hospice which looks after around 700 life-limited children and their families in the midlands.

Shirt sponsorships, particularly for the big English clubs, are usually multi-million pound deals.

Villa, however, say they are happy to sacrifice revenue to enhance their links with the local community and raise awareness of the charity through what they call a "shirt partnership".

"We regard this partnership as more important and more valuable than any commercial opportunity presented to us," a statement on Villa's Web site (www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk) said on Tuesday.

Villa's decision to buck the trend in a cash-rich league in which maximising revenue has become the mantra will further enhance the standing of the club's American owner Randy Lerner.

Since buying the club the millionaire's running of one of English football's most traditional clubs has been popular with the fans who were initially sceptical about the sale.

Other acts of generosity include Lerner spending around 4 million pounds ($7.87 million) renovating a derelict pub near the stadium's famous Holte End because it was part of the club's history.

Villa say they hope the link will help Acorns continue its work with sick children although they said they would not be directly supporting them financially.

"This is not about fundraising it's about raising awareness," a club spokesman said. "We are not aware of any other top club in England going down this route before."

Villa are not the first club to show their charitable side. Spanish heavyweights Barcelona have the United Nations' children's agency UNICEF on the front of their strip and donate around 1.5 million euros ($2.34 million) each year.

However, it is extremely rare for high-profile clubs to forsake the millions on offer.

English champions Manchester United signed a 56.5 million pounds four-year sponsorship deal with American insurers AIG in 2006, the most lucrative deal for an English club.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Clare Lovell)