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The final total raised by the Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction was a massive £150,000, with more than £50,700 added from a charity ball held at the Apex, in Bury St Edmunds.

Gina Long celebrates the countdown of the Bobby Robson’s Appeal auction with supporters and friends. Left to right, Edward Crichton, Austin Cornish, Gina Long, Richard Lindsey, Steve Magnall, Adam Clark.

The initiative, the brainchild of Suffolk woman Gina Long and supported by the East Anglian Daily Times, has been hailed an outstanding success and members of the organising committee gathered to watch the final bids come in before the online auction, which has received national and worldwide publicity, came to a close last night.

Topping the bidding of the 146 lots left on the site was Jose Mourinho’s FIFA Ballon D’Or World Coach of the Year Award Trophy at £26,000 followed by the FC Barcelona experience which raised £12,100.

It has been a remarkable achievement for the organisers with the money raised going jointly to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer in memory of the football icon and breast cancer campaigner Sally Balch.

Bobby’s widow, Lady Elsie Robson, said: “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.”

Mrs Long said: “This has been a magnificent success – all 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 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 have made them very proud and done them justice.”

The ball, which was held on Thursday, was 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 lots including television, driving and sporting experiences and memorabilia, luxury treats and holidays.

It was supported by all Sir Bobby’s former teams, all the Premier League clubs, Celtic and Rangers and by representatives from rugby, horse racing, snooker, tennis, cricket and more. Gary Lineker, Denise Welch, Ant and Dec, Katherine Jenkins, Graeme Swann, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Andre Villas-Boas, Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello were among those who donated prizes and helped make the auction such a success.

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Whether it will be Barca or Madrid who come out on top remains to be seen, with bidding in the online auction expected to intensify throughout Sunday.

But at 9pm on Saturday night, the price of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend training with Barcelona and meet Lionel Messi and co, stood at £7,600, while the highest bid to own the most prestigious trophy of Jose Mourinho’s career (his World Coach of the Year award 2010) stood at £7,000.

What a prize: The top bidder will get the chance to meet Lionel Messi

Up for grabs: Jose Mourinho’s World Coach of the Year trophy
The Barcelona prize is Lot 90 on the auction website, and Mourinho’s trophy is Lot 50.
There are 150 other lots still up for grabs, ranging from a signed special edition of Pele’s autobiography, to a signed Lewis Hamilton helmet and a cricket bat signed by all the stars of the summer’s Test series between England and India.
There is also the chance to go to the PFA’s Player of the Year awards in April (Lot 36), watch England training with Fabio Capello (Lot 41), play a match at Portman Road with your friends or work-mates, having been coached by former Ipswich manager George Burley (Lot 55), meet Andre Villas-Boas and get a shirt signed by the Chelsea team (Lot 86), have VIP hospitality access to the 2012 Champions League final in Munich (Lot 104) or go on an exclusive behind-the-scenes Match of the Day tour, personally hosted by Gary Lineker (Lot 166).

The great man: Proceeds from the auction will go to to the late Sir Bobby Robson’s Foundation and Breakthrough charities

There are also exclusive lots involving dozens of other clubs, many of them including behind the scenes access to training; Celtic are one club offering this.

Sir Bobby’s former clubs, ranging from Fulham and Ipswich to Porto, Barcelona and PSV Einhoven have all donated brilliant prizes in his memory.

All the proceeds will go to Sir Bobby’s Foundation and to Breakthrough, the two nominated charities supported by Sir Bobby, a former Mail on Sunday columnist who died two years ago from cancer.

A ball in Sir Bobby’s honour on Thursday in Bury St Edmunds – attended by many of those who played under Sir Bobby or worked with him – raised £40,000 towards a target that the organiser, Gina Long, hopes might exceed £250,000 when the auction closes.

‘We want everyone to make sure their weekend plans include watching the climax of the online auction unfold,’ Long said. ‘Put aside plans to watch Strictly or the X-Factor. Log on to the auction and help yourself to some wonderful experiences – and help others in the process.’

Sir Bobby’s widow, Lady Elsie, was at Thursday’s ball, sitting alongside Delia Smith, co-owner of Norwich and now a patron of Sir Bobby’s foundation.

The emotional highlight of the evening was a video featuring Sir Bobby himself, close to the end of his life, but still speaking passionately about the need to help others.

The Mail on Sunday is proud to be an official media sponsor.

For more information go to: www.sirbobbysbreakthroughauction.com or follow via Twitter @sirbobbyauction

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And for one set of guests it proved to be a truly unforgettable evening as they came away with one of the top lots from an auction.

Paul Milsom, his sons, Jack, aged eight and Charlie, 12, and staff at Le Talbooth, Gun Hill, Dedha

For Paul Milsom, managing director of Milsom Hotels, based at Le Talbooth, in Dedham, successfully clinched a dream to play on the “hallowed turf” of Portman Road.

He won the bidding for the prize to take a team to the home of Ipswich Town, have full use of the facilities and a pledge from former Super Blues skipper Mick Mills to coach the Milsom squad.

Mr Milsom’s offer of £5,500 proved to be successful over his rivals at Thursday’s event held at the Apex, in Bury St Edmunds.

And his generosity during the auction of 14 lots helped to raise more than £28,000 from the auction in an evening which in total raised more than £45,000 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Tomorrow night, the final total of the fundraising initiative – aimed at raising £250,000 for the two cancer charities – will be known as more than 140 lots left in an online auction will come to a fever pitch climax. And Mr Milsom will also know who his opponents will be as the other half of ITFC Experience will be completed.

The lifelong Ipswich Town fan explained that his business will mark its 60th anniversary next year and the prize would be a perfect part of the diamond celebrations.

“I could not resist the temptation to play on the hallowed turf. We will have to have some trials and get a team together from the staff but we have quite a number of fit people,” he said.

And what an emotional evening that didn’t fail to tug the heartstrings of the hundreds who gathered for the Sir Bobby Breakthrough Ball.

Held at the Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, the glitering event helped the fundraising smash through the £125,000 barrier.

And with the associated auction, which are both being supported by the East Anglian Daily Times, it gave the perfect platform for efforts to reach the £250,000 target.

The brainchild of Gina Long, of Fornham St Martin, last night’s ball was hailed an overwhelming success which attracted Sir Bobby’s wife Lady Elsie, his sons Mark, chairman of the organising committee behind the ball and auction, and Paul.

eadt news west – russell cook – photograph Tudor Morgan-Owen 20/10/11 A lavish ball at the Apex in Bury St Edmunds in aid of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity. Lady Elsie Robson Sir Bobby's widow with Delia Smith CBE

Also attending was Delia Smith, the country’s best-selling cookery author and joint majority shareholder at Norwich City Football Club, who was officially announced as a patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation by Lady Elsie.

Former Lebanon hostage John McCarthy was also one of the VIP guests along with some of the former Ipswich and England manager’s players including George Burley, Alan Brazil, John Wark, Eric Gates, Mick Mills, Russell Osman and Brian Talbot, along with Ipswich Town’s current chief executive Simon Clegg.

Celebrities rubbed shoulders with supporters of the Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer as a sell out guest list numbering 300 were wined and dined and entertained past midnight by The Magnets and five-piece band Frisky.

An auction was also held with 14 lots from the current online site fetching thousands of pounds.

And one lucky person walked off with the star prize of the night … a week’s luxury holiday at the Grand Lucayan, in the Bahamas, with flights included.

Hosted by Bob “The Cat” Bevan, the evening proved to be one of the most successful events of its kind in Suffolk which also saw the attendance of the newly announced chief executive of the country council Deborah Cadman.

Mrs Long said: “It’s been an unbelievable night filled with huge emotion and I can’t thank people enough for coming out and supporting us. Their generosity has been overwhelming.

“Now we want everyone to make sure their weekend plans include watching the climax of the online auction unfold which ends at 8pm on Sunday where they will be able to bid for their favourite lot.

“Put aside plans to watch Strictly Come Dancing or the X-Factor and log on to our dedicated website.”

Yesterday, the FC Barcelona experience was topping the auction list of 140 plus lots at £7,500, with Jose Mourinho’s Fifa Ballon D’Or World Coach of the Year Award trophy relegated to second spot at £6,600.

But there are a host of other coveted prizes from football clubs across the UK and as far away as the USA plus weekend breaks and holidays, sporting memorabilia and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

The auction and ball are being held in memory of Sir Bobby and breast cancer campaigner Sally Balch.

Sally was a founding member of the Breakthrough Suffolk group and died of breast cancer in 2004.

To register to bid on the website go to www.sirbobbysbreakthroughauction.com where you can also make a donation or obtain more information. You can also follow via Twitter @sirbobbyauction

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The chef and joint majority shareholder of Norwich City Football Club will support the cancer charity set up by the former Ipswich Town manager and his wife, Lady Elsie Robson, in 2008.

Mrs Smith said: “Cancer knows no boundaries, and it is wonderful that this is one struggle in which all football clubs have united.”

Sir Bobby, who also managed England and Newcastle, died of cancer in 2009.

Lady Elsie said Mrs Smith had been helping the charity since her husband died.

She said: “I asked a small group of friends if they would help support our ongoing efforts fighting cancer through the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

High profile support
“Delia was one of those people and, very kindly, she immediately agreed.

“Since then we’ve been waiting for an appropriate occasion to announce her support.”

The occasion turned out to be a ball held in Bury St Edmunds as part of Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction, which ends on 23 October.

A total of £47,000 was raised on the night.

Jose Mourinho and David Beckham are among the well known names to donate items for the auction.

The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation had an initial aim of raising £500,000 for a cancer research unit in Newcastle.

Mark Robson, son of Sir Bobby and chairman of the charity, said it has now raised close to £4m.

He said: “Mum and dad have been friends with Delia for a long time.

“We’ve pulled together some patrons in the North East – one from Newcastle, one from Sunderland, one from Middlesbrough – and that works really well.

“On pitch rivalries are a different matter but off the pitch there are bigger matters.”

BBC News Suffolk

FC Porto are offering you the chance to own the silver replica of the Portuguese Cup which Sir Bobby won as their manager in 1994 as well as a shirt signed by all the players which will be presented to the winner by the club president at Porto’s Champions League game against Zenit St Petersburg on December 6, where VIP hospitality for two people will also be laid on.

Glory days: Bobby Robson celebrates Porto’s Cup success

FC Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa said: ‘Sir Bobby Robson helped change Portuguese football, brought to it a winning mentality of conquest but always with enormous respect for the players, for the opponents and for the fans. I remember him as one of the greats of world football and a silver replica of the Portuguese Cup seemed appropriate to honour the memory of Sir Bobby Robson.’

This week, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon will complete a full set of Sir Bobby’s former clubs by donating their own money-can’t-buy lots and a behind-the-scenes tour of the BBC’s Match Of The Day will also be added to a list of more than 160 items.

But hurry – bidding ends at 1pm on Thursday on the first 35 lots, which include VIP tickets to the Friday and Saturday of the Lord’s test against the West Indies next summer, donated by England star Graeme Swann along with some of his personal memorabilia.
For the remaining lots, the deadline to submit your bid is next Sunday. The most-wanted item so far is the 2010 FIFA World Coach of the Year Award given by Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, for which the leading offer is currently £6,300, but there are dozens and dozens of other wonderful opportunities to suit every pocket.

The Mail on Sunday is proud to be an official media sponsor of Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction & Ball:

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Read More: UK: Bidding opens for Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction – News – East Anglian Daily Times.

wo people have the chance to watch a training session at FC Barcelona, meet and greet with the superstar players – such as Argentinian international striker Lionel Messi and former Arsenal captain and midfielder Cesc Fàbregas – and receive a first team signed shirt presented by their manager Pep Guardiola as part of the Sir Bobby’s Breakthrough Auction.

Also included in this sought-after opportunity is two tickets for a Barcelona home match at the iconic Nou Camp, one of the world’s great stadiums.

Click here to read more: Your chance to meet Messi – News – East Anglian Daily Times.