Why did Wiggins’ charity give money to cycling superstars?
Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins vowed his charity would focus on poor children. But this investigation reveals it gave money to team-mates — and his son’s rugby team
A CHARITY founded by Olympic cycling hero Sir Bradley Wiggins to promote participation in sport gave money raised for ‘underprivileged kids’ to his superstar team-mates and his young son’s rugby team, the Daily Mail reveals today.
Fans spent hundreds of thousands of pounds to support the Bradley Wiggins Foundation after his victories at the Tour de France and London 2012 Olympics.
They were told their money would ‘help find the next Wiggins’ by allowing poor children to experience sports, and that it would support athletes with potential. But the Mail has found that only £58,000 was used for charitable grants — and much of this was given to Sir Bradley’s Olympic gold medal-winning team-mates.
The foundation’s funds, which Sir Bradley repeatedly suggested were reserved for grassroots community projects, were used to give grants to Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell — among the best-known stars of British cycling. The trio were handed the funds even though they received National Lottery and sponsorship cash.
The charity refused to say how much of the £58,000 of donors’ money was given to the three top cyclists but the Mail was told it amounted to at least half of that total.
Some of the money was also used to buy new kits for Sir Bradley’s son’s rugby team.
Our findings raise urgent questions for Sir Bradley ahead of the Rio Games next month. In high-profile appearances on the BBC and at charity events, he has repeatedly claimed to be campaigning for improvements to ‘grassroots’ sport in the UK.
The Bradley Wiggins Foundation is now being wound down after the Charity Commission raised concerns about how it was spending its money.
Today, a Mail investigation reveals:
FANS spent at least £345,000 supporting The Bradley Wiggins Foundation — but so much was spent putting on fundraisers that just £58,000 was left for charitable grants.
TWO fundraising events lost the charity almost £30,000.
SUPPORTERS spent at least £150,000 on tickets for a lavish fundraising Yellow Ball in London (see story on right), with a five-course meal, free-flowing alcohol and live music, but this money went to event organisers rather than the charity.
The charity’s trustees — whose role it is to hold it to account — are Sir Bradley and his wife Catherine, his sister-in-law Ruth Cockram (Lady Wiggins’s sister), and Andrew Biddle, a partner at the accountancy firm used by Sir Bradley’s private company.
Sir Bradley, 36, became a national hero after winning the Tour de France in 2012, before taking gold at the London Olympics. The victories led to him winning BBC Sports personality Of The Year.
A year later, a knighthood followed for services to cycling.
He is now set to break the record for the most Olympic medals won by any British athlete in history if he finishes in the top three in the men’s team pursuit at Rio de Janeiro.
Sir Bradley launched his foundation 18 days after his Olympic victory in 2012.
The charity promised to fund sports equipment in schools and local communities, support athletes who showed potential and encourage people to do more exercise.
Sir Bradley told fans he hoped ‘it can grow into something where it’s raising hundreds of thousands each year, and we can give that hundreds of thousands to sporting projects across the country’.
He added: ‘It’s not about people becoming Olympic champions or winning the Tour de France. It could be something like underprivileged kids going to Manchester velodrome for the day and getting on the track.’
Accounts show that two high-profile cycling events held by the foundation raised £119,301 from supporters — but the events cost £148,080 to put on, so lost the charity £28,779.
The shortfall was made up by Sir Bradley.
At the lavish Yellow Ball, held in October 2012, only the money raised by an auction at the ball went to the charity. The rest was used to cover the huge costs of putting on the party.
The foundation ended up giving a total of just £57,965 in grants, according to the public accounts.
Though it did confirm the three star cyclists, Miss Trott, Miss King and Miss Rowsell, were given money, it would not say how much.
Yet in August 2012, the government announced that Team GB athletes would benefit from £125 million in funding every year before the 2016 Games.
‘The funding means that Team GB youngsters, such as cyclist Laura Trott, will be able to train
Cash would ‘help find the next Wiggins’
full-time in their sports and focus solely on performing,’ it said in a statement at the time.
The Bradley Wiggins Foundation told supporters it funded new kit for an under-8s rugby team for two years.
It did not reveal the name of the team but the mail has discovered it was the Orrell St James children’s team, based in Wigan, less than ten miles from Sir Bradley’s large farmhouse home in Chorley, Lancashire.
Sir Bradley’s son Ben was a player for the team, whose kit featured the Bradley Wiggins Foundation logo.
The charity also funded a series of criterium races (laps around a closed circuit) at Salt Ayre in Lancaster. Former professional cyclist Kieran Frend was also sponsored by the foundation through charity grants, although the foundation refuses to say how much was given to him.
In August 2014, following concerns from supporters about how the foundation was spending money raised, the Charity Commission contacted the trustees.
After that, Sir Bradley began quietly winding down the foundation, while making a donation of £5,000 split equally between five
‘Bradley’s a great bloke’
Go-Ride clubs. (Go-Ride is British Cycling’s development programme for young people.)
Last night, a spokesman for the foundation denied any wrongdoing. He said: ‘Three individual donations were made directly to female riders, along with donations to other young sportspeople.
‘The details of these individual donations were filed and accepted by the Charity Commission over two years ago.
‘All donations were made entirely properly and in keeping with the Foundation’s purpose.’
Discussing the fundraisers that lost money, the spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately the second event did not attract the numbers hoped for as the date had to be changed at short notice due to Brad crashing in the Giro D’Italia (one of cycling’s Grand Tour races).
‘This without doubt affected the success of the venture, which subsequently made a loss — which was covered personally by Sir Bradley and his wife.’
The spokesman said the foundation had been wound down so that Sir Bradley could ‘concentrate on his sporting career’, but added: ‘During the time in which it operated, the foundation helped various young sports people and causes.’
A spokesman for the Charity Commission said it had been in touch with the foundation ‘to remind the charity of the need to be open and transparent in dealing with donors and the public in accounting for how the charity’s funds have been used’.
A representative of the local rugby league club confirmed to the mail that the team Sir Bradley’s son played for was sponsored by the charity. He added: ‘Bradley’s a great bloke.’