Brentford FC Community Sports Trust and Brentford Football Club are calling on the local community, fans and supporters to find out their blood type at the Community Stadium Hub before the first match kicks off on Finals Day of the Unity Cup.

The event on Saturday 31 May is part of the Trust’s ongoing Bee A Hero campaign which is aimed at addressing a local, regional and national need for more blood donors.

Blood Donors From All Backgrounds

In the UK, an average of 4,300 blood donations are needed every day to meet the demands of our hospitals. Blood donors from all backgrounds are required to ensure there is the right blood available for patients who need it.

Bee A Hero also aims to engage with the Black community. Currently, only 2% of donors in England are Black. 12,000 new Black heritage donors are needed to meet the growing demand for better-matched blood to treat blood disorders such as sickle cell.

Black blood donors ten times more likely to have the Ro and B positive blood types urgently needed to treat the 15,000 people in the UK suffering from sickle cell disease.

Meet Marcus Gayle At The Community Stadium Hub

Former Brentford player and Jamaica international Marcus Gayle has spearheaded the Bee A Hero campaign, overcoming a fear of needles to donate for the first time and numerous times subsequently.

During Finals Day, fans can meet Marcus, enter a draw to win a signed Brentford shirt and find out their blood type between 10am and 12pm at the Community Stadium Hub, which is located opposite Gate F of the Gtech Community Stadium.

Helping Treat Sickle Cell

Along his blood donation journey Marcus was introduced to Calvin Campbell, who has been managing sickle cell disease his entire life, and now works with NHS Blood and Transplant to advocate for more people to give life-saving blood.

Calvin will also be in attendance at the Community Stadium Hub, with both Calvin and Marcus partaking in a panel discussion during the morning.

The Unity Cup

The Unity Cup is an Afro-Caribbean international football tournament which was last held in 2004.

The competition, featuring the Ghana, Jamaica, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago national teams, will make its comeback after a 21-year hiatus with two semi-finals and a final to be played at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The first semi-final kicks off on Tuesday 27 May, with Trinidad and Tobago taking on Jamaica.

Brentford centre-back Ethan Pinnock could feature for the latter in the clash of the two Caribbean nations, while former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke will be in the Trinidad and Tobago dugout as head coach of the country he played 72 times for.

On Wednesday 28 May, two-time Unity Cup winners Nigeria face Ghana.

The four teams will play again on Saturday 31 May in a double-header at the Gtech. There will be a game to decide third place, followed by the final to determine the winner of the Unity Cup 2025.

For more information and tickets, click here.