Published: 27 October, 2009, 01:05
Edited: 27 October, 2009, 01:39
Moscow Expat League, which unites CEOs who love football, has been closing the 2009 football season this weekend while never hesitating to raise money for charity using the annual event.
A signed Pele shirt, a 5-star holiday to Egypt and an all-inclusive VIP trip to watch Bayern Munich.
These were the top prizes up for auction at the Expat football league's end-of-season bash with CEO's from some of the city's top firms playing in the division, but there wasn't a football kicking around at the event, it was money, and lots of it.
“The total cost is about 2 million roubles we have actually spent. Each ticket is 3,000 roubles, which is our cost, and then all the profit, all the money we raise on the night will go to our charities,” says Expat League co-founder Nick Rees, “We're hoping for between $US 30,000 and $US 40,000. If we can get over $US 32,000 it'll break our record.”
 League's Medals |
Besides the auction, raffle tickets were on sale to help raise funds for the night.
One of the charities the money is going towards is Dogs for the Blind, represented by an owner whose commute to the city centre is halved to two hours thanks to her hound.
The other charity benefiting from the proceeds is Dima's Dream.
“It's a charity for disabled Russian orphans,” explains Darren Keane, League President and Co-founder. “I've been there myself, it's not a nice place to go, it does bring tears to the eyes, and once you go there you really want to make an effort to give something back to the community.”
The league's 9 teams were all represented on the night, with everyone hoping to land one of the individual awards. There was a brief moment of glory for the Storming Cloggs, the winners of the knockout cup.
But the night really belonged to the Moscow Bhoys, who lifted the championship for a second season running.
 Pele's t-shirt |
“We've been working at this for a while. The team started out losing every game 10-1, 10-2, but these last 2 seasons we've really come together. And we've basically dominated the league the last two years,” boasts David Denning, Moscow Bhoys’ captain.
The free-flowing alcohol may have helped to loosen the punters' purse strings, like the 1970s Liverpool shirt fetching four grand.
But all eyes were on the final item.
The Pele shirt has just been auctioned. It's sold for $US 2,700, probably because there are only 3 of them in the world. It's not quite the $US 5000 they were hoping for but, nevertheless, it will all be going to charity.