Albion will put their shirts on England’s 2018 World Cup bid when the new season starts on Saturday – and honour former Baggies star Sir Bobby Robson into the bargain.

The Baggies will wear the England bid logo in place of a shirt sponsor when they take on Newcastle at The Hawthorns.

And the club, who are without a regular kit sponsor, will then sell the unique shirts in an auction to raise money for the late Sir Bobby’s cancer charity.

Chairman Jeremy Peace said: “We are delighted to be supporting the bid campaign.

“It would be a dream come true for every football fan in this country if we could earn the right to stage another World Cup and this is a great opportunity for us, as a club, to play our part in promoting such a great cause.

“We have been contacted by several supporters asking whether we could carry the logo of Sir Bobby’s cancer charity, ‘The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation’, on our shirts at Saturday’s game.

“This obviously will not be possible due to our prior agreement with the bid team.

“However, it is only right and proper that we promote Sir Bobby’s charity via other means at the game.

“The club recently made a sizeable donation to the foundation and we aim to raise further funds for Sir Bobby’s charity by auctioning off all of the 18 shirts worn by our players on Saturday.”

Sir Bobby, who played for Albion and managed Newcastle, will be honoured with a minute’s applause before Saturday’s 5.30pm game, which will be live on BBC TV.

Peace said: “Saturday is sure to be an emotional day as two of the clubs which Sir Bobby served with such distinction are reunited.”