Pele and Maradona football shirts help raise £1,700

Samuel Priestley played for Mountsorrel Juniors and had trained with a Leicester City development side

Signed football shirts of legendary players Pele and Diego Maradona were among those to raise more than £1,700 in a young footballer's memory.

Samuel Priestley, 18, from Rothley, in Leicestershire, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2018, but after several operations and treatments, he died in 2022.

The auction was of 10 number 10 shirts - the same number talented footballer Samuel had worn since joining a local league team at the age of five.

After the fundraiser, his mum Sharon Priestley said she was overwhelmed by the community support.

Pele's shirt, which sold for £440, raised the most money.

Others included a shirt worn by former Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp during his testimonial match and Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

There was also a signed rugby shirt of former England and Leicester Tigers player Toby Flood, which sold to a buyer in New Zealand.

The Pele shirt fetched the most at auction

Sharon said it had been lovely to hand deliver some of the shirts to "super fans".

"The furthest shirt to travel is the Toby Flood, Leicester Tigers shirt, which will now journey to the other side of the world to its new owner in New Zealand," she said.

"We've been overwhelmed with everyone's support and delighted that so many have shared our admiration for the number 10 players and got involved.

"We'd like to say thank you to everyone who shared the campaign to their own networks to raise awareness and reach a wider audience, including Mountsorrel FC and Quorn FC."

Sharon said close to £55,000 had now been raised for Samuel's Promise, a fund through CCLG: The Children and Young People's Cancer Association.

The fund raises money for research into low-grade brain tumours and surgical advancements.

Samuel was 14 years old when he was diagnosed with pilocytic astrocytoma in 2018 after he began to suffer from headaches.

Sharon said he was "full of energy" and "sports-mad" - especially about football.