Oxford United players are encouraging fans to sign up for a sponsored walk in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The charity, which provides free nursing care to cancer patients and the terminally ill, has been chosen as the Football League’s official charity partner for the 2010-11 season.

United are backing a push by the charity to get more Oxfordshire people to sign up to Marie Curie’s Walk Ten event at Christ Church, in Oxford, on Saturday, September 11.

The 10-kilometre walk sets out from the college before making its way through the streets of Oxford.

Participants will take in major landmarks and sights of the city, before having exclusive access to Christ Church Meadow after dusk.

United captain James Constable said he hoped fans would get their walking boots on for the charity.

He added: “It’s a fantastic cause. Marie Curie nurses do an excellent job all across the country and we are very proud to be associated with them.

“We hope people come out in their hundreds for the 10k walk.”

The Football League’s partnership with Marie Curie Cancer Care aims to raise £500,000 which would fund at least 25,000 hours of free nursing care for terminally ill people.

Locally, the charity hopes to make £55,000 through the walk, which it has calculated equates to 2,750 hours of care in the county.

Shiralyn Hunt, fundraising coordinator for Oxfordshire, said the money gave people the choice of spending their final days in the comfort of their home – watching television, sitting in the garden and enjoying time with friends and family.

Mrs Hunt, from Bicester, added: “We’re really glad Oxford United have decided to support us and back the 10k walk.

“The 10 in the 10k is particularly significant as 10pm is when a Marie Curie nurse goes into a patient’s home and their shift begins.

“It’s really important as many people, Oxford United fans or not, get behind this walk and support the important work our nurses do.”

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk To register for the walk, email shiralyn.hunt@ mariecurie.org.uk or call 01869 246655. For more details, see mariecurie.org.uk