Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction ended last night (Sunday 23 October) and raised an incredible £204,224 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
The auction, and a ball in Suffolk held on Thursday (20th October), were organised by volunteer fund-raiser Gina Long in memory of Sir Bobby Robson and breast cancer campaigner Sally Balch.
Gina is rightly proud of what has been achieved and says: “Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction and Ball has been a magnificent success. This has all been made possible because of enormous love, respect and the way many clubs wanted to honour Sir Bobby Robson, who I was so privileged to call a great friend. The support from auction prizes donors, sponsors, individuals, companies and the wonderful bidders have helped make it a HUGE success, one way beyond our wildest dreams. I did this in memory of Sir Bobby and my beautiful friend Sally Balch who lost her battle with Breast Cancer , I hope we (the fantastic committee) have made them very proud and done them justice.”
Over £50,000 was raised at Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Ball, which was held in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and attended by Lady Elsie Robson and Sir Bobby Robson Foundation Patrons Mick Mills and Delia Smith.
All other funds were raised through the online auction which featured 188 incredible lots including television, driving and sporting experiences, sports memorabilia, luxury treats and holidays. It was supported by all of Sir Bobby’s former teams, all the Premier League clubs, Celtic, Rangers and representatives from the world of rugby, horse racing, snooker, tennis, cricket and more.
Gary Lineker, Ant and Dec, Katherine Jenkins, Graeme Swann, Sir Alex Ferguson, ‘Pep’ Guardiola, Arsene Wenger, Gordon Taylor OBE, Denise Welch, Andre Villas-Boas, Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello are just some of the high profile names who donated very special prizes and helped make the auction such a success.
The star lot was Jose Mourinho’s Fifa World Coach of the Year 2010 trophy – the most significant individual silverware won by the maverick Portuguese coach to date – has sold for staggering £26,000 last night as a charity auction in memory of Mourinho’s mentor, Sir Bobby Robson, closed.
We can reveal the winning bidder for Mourinho’s trophy was Lance Bradley, the head of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK. ‘Sir Bobby was so special, that’s why I took part,’ Bradley said. ‘I only had the privilege of meeting Sir Bobby once, but I’ll never forget it.’
Lady Elsie Robson says: “Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction has taken a tremendous amount of effort to achieve. My family and I are extremely grateful to Gina Long for her vision, hard work and enthusiasm in creating this ambitious charity venture.
“We’re also very appreciative of all the many people who have pitched in and helped by volunteering their time, expertise and incredible auction prizes.
“When my husband and I launched our charity in 2008 Bob said he felt like he was at the helm of a team again. What he called his last and greatest team – and taking on a challenge far greater than any football match.
“We began with the aim to equip a centre to trial new cancer drugs and we’ve been able to fulfil that ambition and do so much more.
“Our medical trustees are always looking for the next breakthrough, the next promising investment into cancer equipment or training. Always looking to fulfil Bob’s ambition to provide truly world class facilities for others fighting cancer.
“Sadly cancer affects us all in one way or another, but with us all pulling together, one day we will beat it.”
We have been overwhelmed by support and want to encourage companies and individuals to get involved with our very special Auction and Ball by generously becoming a sponsor or auction prize donor – it really will make the biggest difference in helping create hugely successful events that will do Sally and Sir Bobby proud.
The auction and ball will raise tens of thousands of pounds for two charities that do an awful amount of good work.
Sir Bobby was one of the best managers Ipswich Town ever had; a legend, a gentleman and an inspiration to everyone with whom he came into contact. His legacy to English football generally, and to Ipswich Town and Suffolk in particular, was immense and we would like to encourage everyone to get involved in helping to raise funds for two charities who are in the forefront of tackling this dreadful disease that took him from us.
Sir Bobby was a great friend of mine and I know he would be extremely proud that the charity work, he was so committed to, is continuing in his name. I am sure Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction and Ball will be a great success and I would urge everyone to give generously to this worthy cause.
