Muckle LLP Helps Football Star in His Charity Challenge
We are delighted to be helping former Newcastle United defender, Robbie Elliott, on his way to raising thousands of pounds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Break through Breast Cancer.
Robbie began planning the ‘Bike for Bobby’ challenge after experiencing the effects that cancer had on family and colleagues. He wanted to help raise money for cancer research and treatment, and came up with the idea of cycling between all of the football clubs Sir Bobby Robson managed during his career – 3,500 miles in about 25 days.
Robbie and triathlete, Phil Gray, Robbie's friend and trustee, will start off at Sporting Lisbon’s ground in Portugal, travelling to FC Porto in northern Portugal, then eastwards into Spain to Barcelona, before cycling through France to Holland where they will call in at PSV Eindhoven’s ground. Back in the UK he will stop off at Wembley (recognising Sir Bobby's role as England manager), Fulham and Ipswich, before heading north and finishing the ride at Newcastle United’s St. James’ Park.
Muckle LLP’s Sports Team was approached to provide legal advice for managing Robbie’s charitable giving and they helped him to set up The Robbie Elliott Foundation, from which the funds raised through the Bike for Bobby challenge will be distributed.
John Devine, partner at Muckle and head of the Sports Team, explained: “When Robbie told me about his ‘Bike for Bobby’ idea, I was more than happy to get involved and offer as much help and advice as we could. It is an incredible challenge in memory of a truly great man, raising money for two very worthy causes. To put it in perspective, the Tour de France is 2,131 miles and completed in three weeks; whilst the Bike for Bobby project is at least 3500 miles across five countries. In order for Robbie to complete it in around 25 days, he will need to cycle about 150 miles a day.”
As well as incorporating and registering the Foundation for Robbie, John also helped by introducing Robbie to a number of commercial partners, who were able to offer their support, including Benfield Motor Group (which is supplying a support vehicle for the duration of the 25-day challenge), The Premier League, The Professional Footballers' Association, Hilton, Vue Cinemas, Fenwick and ND Creative.
“Setting up a Foundation is an excellent way for sports people like Robbie to manage and focus their charitable fundraising,” John said. “We work closely with The Professional Footballers’ Association on this project, as well as Kirsty Ball at Integral Strategies, who is Robbie's accountant, and the trustees of the Foundation.
Robbie who is now employed by US Soccer as a performance coach and works for Nike as a SPARQ performance coach, will set off on the 3,500 mile cycle challenge in October.
He said: “The support I have received from John Devine and the team at Muckle has been second to none. They have gone above and beyond what I would have expected a law firm to do. Not only have they advised me on the best way to handle my charitable activities, they have put me in touch with a number of other organisations which have offered their support for this challenge."
For more information about our Sports team and how it can help your organisation please contact Tony McPhillips using 0191 211 7809 or [email protected].