THE shirts worn by Exeter City players in memory of teammate Adam Stansfield have sold for more than three times the original target.
Grecians fans have been bidding for the 20 shirts worn during Exeter City's win over Yeovil Town at Huish Park.
The shirts bore special tributes to Adam, 31, who died from bowel cancer in August. Bidding was fierce throughout but a sudden flurry on Sunday evening just as the hammer was coming down has seen the total amount raised top £6,500. Ryan Harley's shirt topped the list, going for £571, while even the cheapest comfortably smashed the £200 barrier.
The money will be split between the Adam Stansfield Foundation to help youth footballers, and the family fund. Those involved in the campaign said they were stunned at how much money was raised.
Chairman of the Adam Stansfield Foundation Andy Cole said: "The total for all 20 Exeter shirts was £6,562.67. We are thrilled. To be honest I am almost speechless. My initial thought was I was hoping we would raise £2,000 but it became apparent very quickly that was a gross underestimate.
"On Saturday morning when I left for Walsall we were just shy of £4,000 and I said to my friends we may just creep up to £5,000. But those last few minutes on Sunday were unbelievable.
"I followed it ten minutes before the first shirt was sold and most had a lot of late bids. Ryan (Harley) had been leading the way all week but just a few minutes before it was sold it had reached £401. But it ended up going for £571.
"I just sat in awe of it all and was completely dumbstruck to be honest. I suddenly realised the enormity of what was going on and it became really exciting watching all these people paying for something in Adam's memory."
Just after the final shirt had been sold Mr Cole said he contacted Adam's widow Marie who had also been following it online and he said she was "shocked but really happy" at how much had been raised. He said: "I have since made contact with the rest of the family and the other trustees and they are all delighted at such a fantastic response."
The money will now be split between the two good causes.
The winning bidders will be contacted shortly to see whether they want the shirt signed by the individual player.
They will then be will be posted out.
Mr Cole said: "They are unique collectors items that will never be duplicated.
"I would just ask the successful bidders to be patient. We are hoping to get them out as soon as possible and are moving as quickly as we can.
"I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who bid and to Barry Sansom, the Exeter City fan who kindly allowed us to use his ebay account."
An auction of the Yeovil shirts worn in the same game that also featured Adam's name and dates he played for the Glovers fetched around £1,900 last week.
Source: www.thisisexeter.co.uk
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