William Hill donates £5000 to the Poppy Appeal
29 November 2011
Bookmakers William Hill donated £5,000 to the Poppy
Appeal today, after they pledged to donate all their winnings from
a bet on England shirts featuring the poppy during an international
football match against Spain on Saturday 12th
November.
William Hill opened the book on whether FIFA, football's international governing body, would allow England's players to wear poppies on their shirts against Spain with bets of 1/2 N0 and 6/4 YES. The EngIand team were allowed to honour the sacrifices of our Armed Forces by wearing a poppy on a black arm band instead. The compromise meant that William Hill paid out both ways but decided to donate £5,000 to the Poppy Appeal anyway.
The Royal British Legion's Director of National Events and Fundraising Russell Thompson OBE accepted the cheque from William Hill representative Rupert Adams at the Legion's head office in London.
Mr Thompson said: "We're very grateful to William Hill for this generous donation of £5,000 towards the Poppy Appeal. The money will provide vital care and support to our serving and ex-Service people.
"We have been overwhelmed by the amount of support shown for our Armed Forces throughout the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance period, particularly in response to the FIFA ban."
"We are particularly grateful to the Football Association. Working closely with Legion, FA officials arranged a One Minute Silence before the international match, during which a poppy wreath was laid, and arranged for Poppy Appeal collectors to be present at the match.
The Legion was also offered space within Wembley Stadium for poppy images and messages of support, which were visible to all supporters and viewers at home.
The Poppy Appeal, supporting the nation's leading Armed Forces charity, was backed by all 20 Premiership football clubs this year, who wore the poppy on their shirts.
