The highest bidder will decide whether Eddie Charters devotes the love of his soccer life to Manchester City or Manchester United.
Ian Charters, the father of 7-month-old Eddie, is auctioning off his son’s lifetime soccer allegiance, with the proceeds going to charity.
Ian Charters set up an auction site on eBay in which the bidder can chose which of the two Manchester-based Premier League clubs young Eddie Charters will support, according to the BBC.
“It’s a bit of fun,” Ian Charters said. “I’ll buy him a shirt, and when he’s old enough, I’ll take him to a match. I’ll make sure he supports them. It’s mostly City fans where we live, but it’s 50/50 at work. Everyone thinks it’s a good idea.”
Eddie Charters was born six weeks prematurely and spent four weeks in the hospital after birth.
After Eddie Charters was nursed back to health, Ian Charters decided to raise money to support Bliss, a charity that provides support for prematurely born babies (and their families).
“Eddie was an emergency caesarian section and he was very ill for a couple of weeks,” Ian Charters said. “I wanted to do something for the Bliss charity and so I am going to run the London Marathon next year. I set myself a target of £2,500 ($4,008) and was thinking of ways to raise money when this popped into my head.”
Ian Charters had no interest in passing his penchant for supporting Watford, a Championship (English second division) club based just outside of London, down to his son.
“I live in Greater Manchester, but originally come from down south, so I have no affiliation with either of the Manchester clubs,” Ian Charters said. “I’ll be fighting a losing battle trying to get my son to support my team (Watford). Frankly, I wouldn’t want to inflict that on the poor child anyway.”
Photo by Jon Super/The Associated Press
