Brighton supporters take on Palace in the Robert Eaton Memorial Trophy 2019
Brighton and Hove Albion supporters will take on their Crystal Palace counterparts in the 18th Robert Eaton Memorial Trophy match on Friday 26th April 2019.
The annual event moves from it’s regular home of the Dripping Pan to Woodside Road, Worthing this year. Kick off is at 7.45pm and entrance is priced at £5 adults and £2 for under 16s – unless accompanied by an adult, in which case it is free.
All money raised on the day goes towards the Robert Eaton Memorial Fund. Food and beer will be available throughout the evening and there will also be a raffle with plenty of money-can’t-buy prizes up for grabs.
The REMF was set up in memory of Albion fan Robert Eaton who was killed whilst working in the World Trade Centre on 9/11. It helps to support youth football programmes in Sussex, Croydon, New York and across the world and has so far raised over £260,000 through golf days, quiz nights and other fundraising events.
Among those to have benefited from this money are Seagulls Specials – a club which works with disabled youngsters – that received £7,000 to help with their amazing work. Coaching For Hope – a charity which uses football to support youngsters orphaned by the Aids epidemic in areas like Cambodia – has been given £3,000 while a £30,000 minibus was purchased for Albion in the Community.
A few days before the Albion’s 2-1 win away at Selhurst Park in March, £2,500 went toward helping Croydon FC after thieves broke into their clubhouse and stole laptops, cash, stock and memorabilia and left the place ransacked and damaged. The first ever club to receive a donation from REMF were Los Peladitos, a youth football team in Queens, New York, who use football to help underprivileged with the ultimate aim of trying to aid them in gaining soccer scholarships to US universities.
The yearly fixture between Albion and Palace fans is REMF’s flagship event and biggest fundraiser. Former Brighton striker Ricky Marlowe, who Robert’s North Stand Chat username was based on, travels down from Scotland to play each year with Peter Ward also flying across from his home in the United States to turn out regularly.
Other former professionals to have taken part include Paul Rogers for the Albion and Simon Rodger and Andy Johnson for Palace. Johnson gave one of the all-time great performances in the game when winning the cup for the Eagles in the year it was held at the Amex, although given that he’d been playing for England less than a decade before and cost Fulham over £10m just eight years previously, it was no surprise to see him coming out on top against a defence featuring players from the likes of Sussex Sunday League Division Six side Amici Athletic.
Palace are the current holders of the trophy having ran out 3-2 winners last year with Ward netting one of the Brighton goals. Nearly £10,000 was raised by the event.
If you can’t make it along to Woodside Road but would like to donate, then you can do so using the Albion squad’s Just Giving Page by clicking here.
