The Nelson Mandela Foundation has signed an 18-month agreement with English football club Sunderland to help raise funds for its philantrophic activities.

According to BBC, David Miliband, the vice-chairman of Premier League club Sunderland said the club was honoured to be identified with Nelson Mandela and the charity.

“It’s a great validation of the community and charitable work we do,” Mr Miliband said.

“We want to take his message of reconciliation and social justice as far and as wide as possible,” the UK politician furthered.

Sunderland will support the Foundation with its fundraise for the next one year and a half.

The partnered fundraiser will be launched with Sunderland’s Premier League match against Manchester United on March 30.

The Foundations hopes also to disseminate Nelson Mandela’s message of “inclusivity and reconciliation and social justice to young people worldwide through the football club.”

“It will give us an outreach we haven’t got yet,” Achmat Dangor, Nelson Mandela Foundation head, told BBC.

“We get many offers of partnerships but what Sunderland did was something unique and generous and unconditional, there was nothing like: ‘Can you give us something in return?'” He said.