'Sir Bobby Charlton was an unbelievable mentor'

The late Sir Bobby Charlton would be "very, very proud" of the work done by community football coaches supported by his charity foundation, one of his close friends has said. Sheils, who first met Sir Bobby 47 years ago, spoke warmly of his late friend, who died in 2023 aged 86. Together, they established the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools which thousands of youngsters attended during school holidays. He said Sir Bobby had been "an unbelievable mentor, taught me everything I knew and taught me how to go about life". AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementSheils said Sir Bobby "used to say 'If people go to any soccer schools, what would he want it to be?'