Everton players and fans sleep at Goodison Park for the night to raise money for the homeless.

EVERTON’S under-23s partner up with Everton in the Community (EITC) to raise money for the homeless within Merseyside by spending the night sleeping in sub-zero temperatures at Goodison Park stadium.

50 Everton supporters and 35 of the Under-23s squad and staff spent seven hours in the Park End stand on Friday night wrapped up in sleeping bags in an attempt to get as much sleep as possible, in the hope that they could both raise awareness and money for those sleeping rough at this time of year.

EITC are well known for their work with the club and particularly for their role in raising money for the homeless. Fundraising Manager at EITC, Carena Duffy said: “We work with and support organisations here in Liverpool such as the Whitechapel Liverpool, Asylum Link and New Start who are all working direct with people who are living on the streets of Liverpool.

The Everton Sleepout is over. What a great effort from the fans, staff and players. Outstanding from the @EitCFundraising team. #bluefamily pic.twitter.com/uJhxSGlZ0V

— Everton (@Everton) November 26, 2016

“We also host football sessions every week for homeless people. We wanted to raise the awareness especially at this time of year when the temperatures are below Celsius.

“EITC are currently in the process of launching a large scale fundraising campaign with U23 manager David Unsworth and his team of players which will be raising money to fund a project which will be supporting homeless children across Merseyside.”

The club held a sleep out in March last year which was open to CEO’s of organisations in the North West which was extremely successful, however Duffy said: “This year we wanted to make it inclusive to fans as we knew it is an exclusive opportunity and we knew the fans would love the opportunity to sleep at Goodison.”

Once again the fundraiser was a success, reaching £7,000 on the night not including offline donations and sponsorships which will be totalled up 6 weeks post event.

When speaking to Duffy she stated that the event was a “surreal experience… I will definitely consider hosting this event again next year.”