Carlton Cole joins fight against Ebola with help from West Ham team-mates

The striker's mother is from Sierra Leone, one of the badly affected countries

West Ham striker Carlton Cole, whose mother is from Sierra Leone, founded the campaign with Godfrey Torto, left

West Ham striker Carlton Cole today joined the battle against Ebola by appealing to the world of football to held victims of the deadly virus.

The Premier League striker launched a campaign, backed by his Hammers team-mates, to raise funds to help those affected.

Cole, whose mother Selina is from Sierra Leone, said: “With the country facing such a terrible crisis, it’s imperative and my duty to do all I can to try to help.

“My team-mates and club have been fantastic at backing our #FootballFightingEbola campaign. I’d urge the whole of football, players and fans around the world, to also support it.”

Cole, who has played nine times for England, added: “The stories and pictures that I’m seeing in Sierra Leone are heart-breaking. I feel compelled to make a difference.”

At West Ham’s training ground in Chadwell Heath, Essex, Cole and his team-mates, including Alex Song, captain Kevin Nolan and top scorer Diafra Sakho, were pictured yesterday displaying signs with the campaign logo.

Funds raised by the #FootballFightingEbola campaign will go to the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership which has set up an isolation unit in the Connaught Hospital in the capital Freetown.

British doctor Oliver Johnson, 28, is leading a team of medical staff, including many from London, under the project being run by the King’s Centre for Global Health, a tie-up between King’s College London and three NHS Trusts, together with local health professionals in Sierra Leone.

A collection will be held at West Ham’s game against Aston Villa at Upton Park tomorrow, with money raised going to the King’s Sierra Leone Partnership and Carlton and Selina Cole’s Carlakka Foundation, which aims to build a school in Freetown.

Godfrey K Torto, who co-founded the football campaign with Cole, said: “It’s a privilege to collaborate with Carlton to offer help to Ebola victims in Sierra Leone.

“We hope this campaign will reach worldwide and raise significant funds to support the work that medical experts from Britain are leading to tackle the virus.”

People can donate through virginmoneygiving.com/FootballFightingEbola or by texting STOPEBOLA to 70030 which automatically gives £10.

The campaign was launched a day after the head of the UN mission to fight Ebola warned that he does not have the resources to defeat the disease in west Africa. Anthony Banbury said more assistance is needed as some villages have not received help.

The first Ebola treatment centre built by British military engineers opened this week in Sierra Leone but many victims are still not getting treatment.

In Britain, a hotline for NHS staff seeking advice on patients with Ebola-like symptoms is receiving up to 80 calls a week.