Hollywood mogul gives Willington a funds boost

NORTHERN League Division Two club Willington can claim to have a direct link with Hollywood, one of sport’s most recognisable franchises and the reigning Premier League champions.

The County Durham outfit received an unexpected donation of £1,500 towards their fundraising efforts during the week as Hollywood film producer Robert Molloy, who is the grandson of former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Steinbrenner passed away in 2010, but his family still retain ownership of the 27-time World Series winners and part-own MLS outfit New York City FC along with the City Football Group, who own Premier League champions Manchester City.

Molloy recently accepted an offer to become vice-president of Matlock Town after donating £3,500 to the Northern Premier League club and his generosity continued as he went on to make donations to Derbyshire-based amateur club Wirksworth Ivanhoe and Cheshire Football League side Denton Town.

Willington became the fourth club to receive a donation in the early hours of Tuesday morning after social media manager and keen American sports fan Mark Welsh sent a congratulatory reply to Matlock Town’s Twitter account.

Club chairman Lee Mcconville hailed the contribution from Molloy as he told The Sunday Sun: “We are truly astounded by Rob’s amazing donation.

“In these uncertain times it goes a long way to helping our club survive.

“When Mark (Welsh) first told me, I thought he’d started drinking and it took him some time to convince me that this was really happening!

“We are absolutely stunned and overwhelmed.

“What a wonderful gift from a man who is no longer a stranger but now an honorary life member of our club.”

Welsh described the situation as “a bit surreal” and admitted that he had been blown away by Molloy’s generosity as his donation took Willington beyond their initial target of £2,000.

He said: “The club received a direct message from Rob Molloy after I had sent the tweet to Matlock Town and he said he had seen our own fundraising efforts.

“I love American sports, so I was aware of his connections to the New York Yankees and the New York City Football Club.

“To think that someone with such strong connections with the Yankees and New York City FC has helped us reach our £2,000 fundraising target.

“I was astonished and completely blown away by the man himself, his generosity and his knowledge of the non-league game.”