A new online charity auction is now underway (6 – 19 October) to raise funds 
for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
There are more than 70 fantastic lifestyle and sporting lots available in The EACH and Sir Bobby’s Online Auction, including the Sheffield United shirt Gary Speed wore when the club took on Ipswich Town at Portman Road in 2008.
Gary was one of Sir Bobby’s ‘blue chip’ players at Newcastle United and he went on to become a great supporter of his former manager’s charity, even running the London Marathon to raise funds.
Gary’s number 15 match shirt is just one of the many special lots available in this charity auction and it was donated by Eastleigh FC’s Jai Reason.
Jai explains: ‘I watched Gary play my whole career because he was centre midfield like me.’ He was a fantastic professional and someone I really admired.
‘When I was in the Academy at Ipswich we would have first team duties like giving the drinks out.’ I was on the day Sheffield played at Portman Road and took the opportunity to ask Gary for his shirt at the end of the game and he handed it over with a smile.
‘I’ve looked after it ever since, never washed it, but on the anniversary of Gary’s death I thought it might help someone else.’ That’s when I found out about his connection to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and donated it to them.’
Organised by the EACH Special Events Committee, which is chaired by veteran fundraiser Gina Long, the EACH and Sir Bobby’s Online Auction is running between 6th-19thOctober and is hosted by www.sale-room.com.
Gina, from Suffolk, has previously raised over ‘600,000 through two hugely successful online auctions with ‘232,000 of the proceeds going to the cancer charity Sir Bobby Robson launched in 2008.
Gina says: ‘We’re hugely grateful to Jai for donating something he obviously treasured to help us with this charity auction.
‘There are so many incredible lots available, holidays, sporting events, hotel stays, garden tours, truly something for everyone.’ We’ve been blown away by the generosity already shown and we’ll be adding additional auction lots as they come in.’
The football community has been particularly supportive of the charity auction and Tottenham Hotspur is giving a group of four people the chance to watch training and meet the players.’ They will also take home a Limited Edition copy of the ‘Spurs Opus’ the biggest ever book of the club’s 125 year history.
Two Directors Box tickets for a home QPR Premier League game at Loftus Road have been donated that also includes a signed QPR shirt, which will be presented to the winner before the game by manager Harry Redknapp.
There’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for two people to attend training at FC Barcelona, arguably one of the greatest teams ever, featuring Lionel Messi, already an all-time great player and the best footballer at work in the world now.
Including in this amazing prize are two tickets for a FC Barcelona home match at Camp Nou, one of the world’s truly great stadiums.
Signed shirts are also up for grabs from Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool as well as Brazil shirt signed by Ronaldo earlier this year when he was visiting the UK and a UEFA Champions League football signed by Jose Mourinho.
A PSV Eindhoven VIP hospitality experience is also on offer. The winning bidder and a friend will attend a home match, enjoy dinner, VIP box match tickets, and a meet and greet session with the players and/or Directors, who will present the winning bidder with a signed shirt.
Ipswich Town FC has been very generous and donated a number of prizes:
””””’ Directors’ Box seats for two with meal and pre match tour
””””’ Fantastic opportunity to watch the ITFC squad train followed by lunch with the Manager and players.
””””’ Two ITFC Academy Training Sessions for ages 12-15 and 16 -18. A great opportunity for your team or 16 friends to train with a qualified FA coach at Ipswich Town Academy. Meet the Academy Director, take part in a training session and enjoy a behind the scenes tour of the ITFC training ground.
Other lots include a private tour of Althorp House hosted by Earl Spencer, VIP tickets to the final day of the World Snooker Championships 2015 with a back stage tour and a VIP invitation to attend the post Final Champions Reception, an Ed Sheeran hoodie and T-shirt with personally signed postcard labels, two VIP tickets with hospitality to Badminton Horse Trials, a corporate box at Brands Hatch for the Masters Historic Festival and many more.
For a full list of lots and descriptions please visit: www.the-saleroom.com (also listed in Notes to Editor below).
