'The country should be proud' of Harry Kane's Leyton Orient shirt sponsorship, says chief Danny Macklin

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Leyton Orient chief executive Danny Macklin says the club will be "eternally grateful" to Harry Kane for sponsoring their shirts for the coming season .

The League Two club's 2020-21 home shirt will carry a message of thanks to ‘frontline heroes’ and raise money for the local NHS trust, while the second and third shirts will provide funds for the Haven House and Mind charities respectively.

Kane has paid the club, for whom he scored his first professional goal while on loan, an undisclosed figure, while 10 percent of each shirt sale will go the charities.

Macklin says he came up with the idea while in the shower and believes the country should be proud of England captain Kane.

"The country should be proud of what he's done," Macklin told Standard Sport. "Footballers have got a lot of criticism unduly during this crisis. He's shown leadership, he's shown what can be done. It's a massive gesture for us and it will help the three charities enormously.

Leyton Orient

"Our shirt sales have gone through the roof and it's vital income for our football club and it's only aided by Harry's generosity and support.

"Harry came up with the charities – he very much wanted to give something back. Mind is associated with every football club, and rightly so. Haven House is literally on his doorstep and on our doorstep, and the frontline heroes message is relevant to everyone. That money will be going to the NHS trust literally a stone's throw away from the club and I believe that he was born in the local hospital because he was born in Walthamstow.

"So it literally is a dream partnership. It's so unique. It's so unprecedented it's untrue. We're so proud that through Harry we're able to do this."

Kane and Orient have been given special approval from the Premier League, the Football Association and EFL for the unique sponsorship deal, which is the first of its kind.

Leyton Orient

"I came up with the idea one morning just as we started lockdown in the shower," Macklin said. "I approached Harry Kane's agent, his brother Charlie. I cannot thank him, all the Kane family and all Harry's representatives enough. They have been phenomenal. Within minutes, they were keen to progress.

"It took time to get this through the charity partners, all the authorities. There's a lot of work we've done. A huge amount of work from the team here and Harry's team.

"It's a win-win-win situation. It provides much-needed revenue for us, it provides an opportunity for Harry for thank the club that gave him his professional debut, albeit on loan. And it proves phenomenal coverage for the three partners: the local NHS trust – and all the key workers because there's a lot of frontline workers that have gone unrecognised, because it's not just the NHS staff –, Mind as well as Haven house.

"They're going to benefit from huge exposure and 10 percent profit from all shirt sales. That will stack up judging from the sales we've done so far. Its gone bonkers. My retail staff were already working hard and we're putting in an additional order tonight against what we've already placed.

Leyton Orient

"So it really is a win-win-win situation. It's such a great thing and we're eternally grateful for what Harry has allowed us to do."

Like all EFL clubs, Orient are suffering financially during the pandemic and facing the prospect of playing at least part of next season behind-closed-doors, with the current campaign increasingly likely to be ended next week.

Shirt sponsorships are believed to be worth between £50,000 to 100,000 to League Two clubs and Macklin added: "We've got to do an awful lot to make sure we've become sustainable as football club, and this helps. That applied before Covid-19, which has made the challenge even more difficult. But it's certainly part of that and we'll be eternally grateful for what Harry's done.

"I would love to get Spurs in the third round of the FA Cup and beyond. That's even more prize money, that would be phenomenal. It would be even greater in a few years time if we're playing them in the league. We can but dream."

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