Our Founder
Footballing legend, Sir Bobby Charlton, established The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation in 2011 after witnessing the devastation caused by landmines on visits to Cambodia and Bosnia as a sporting ambassador for the charity Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He witnessed first-hand the devastating impact that landmines and the legacy of a forgotten war were still having on innocent civilians, meeting communities whose lives had been torn apart by the impact of explosive remnants of war, and who continued to struggle against exclusion and poverty. Poignantly, he also met children who had simply gone out to play football – as he and his brothers had done as kids – but who had returned with life-changing injuries from inadvertently touching an unexploded device.
Sir Bobby was determined to do something practical to help the people he had met in Cambodia and thousands more like them around the world. He shared his experiences with friends and family, and with their support set up The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation to help people affected by conflict, passionately committed to doing what he could to make a positive impact to their lives.
Sir Bobby Charlton’s sporting exploits and domestic, European and international trophy successes are legendary throughout the footballing world. What is less well known is his humanitarian work, which was such a huge part of the last decade of his life. Away from the floodlights and packed stadiums, Sir Bobby’s name helped to draw attention to the plight of the disadvantaged and to give a voice to the voiceless, particularly to young people whose innocence is so often stripped from them far too soon.