CARLTON members have put their football club on their back and carried it through this challenging period: now, it is time to return the favour.

The Club and its co-major partner Hyundai are today proud to launch the Back our ‘Baggers campaign. 

This will see all 67,000 Carlton members given the chance to have their name etched onto the back of a player’s guernsey for a game.

In three games throughout the 2020 season, Carlton players will each wear a guernsey with a specific member’s name on the back.

This will symbolise their commitment to play, not only for that member, but for every record-breaking Bluebagger who has kept the Club alive during this incredibly challenging time.

Leading into each selected game, Hyundai will be running a competition that every Carlton member can enter. Twenty-two member names will be randomly selected to be paired alongside each of the 22 players who will run out for that weekend’s game.

As well as getting their own personalised, player-signed and match-worn guernsey, if a member and their player finish the game ranked in the top five for Champion Data, they will also go into the running to win a brand-new Hyundai at the end of the season.

 The first Back our ‘Baggers game will be the Round 4 showdown against arch-rivals Essendon. The other two games will be announced in line with the remaining fixtures.

Carlton co-captain Patrick Cripps said the playing group was proud to partner with Hyundai to be able acknowledge the Carlton faithful in such a powerful way.

“To put it simply, without our members at the moment we wouldn’t even be able to put that Navy Blue jumper on this year,” Cripps said.

“To be able to run out with their names on our backs, it is our way of saying thanks to each and every one of the 67,000-plus Bluebaggers who have stuck by us, kept us going and thanks to them, we will come out of the COVID-19 situation a bigger, better and stronger footy club.

“We’d also like to give a massive thanks to Hyundai, not only for their ongoing and unwavering support of Carlton, but their commitment to also highlight that our members are the lifeblood of our club, who deserve to have their names up in lights more than any of us.” 

Hyundai Director of Marketing Kevin Goult said the organisation was delighted to drive the Back our 'Baggers campaign. 

“This special acknowledgement to put members’ names, alongside ours, on the back of the players’ guernseys, is about making sure the record-breaking Carlton members get the recognition they deserve,” Goult said. 

“As a proud partner of their football club we are delighted to be able to do that for them.”