The Robert Eaton Memorial Fund (REMF) has announced that the charity will cease operations next January. Vice-chairman, and manager of the Brighton REMF football team, Brett Mendoza, looks back at an emotive and fulfilling 22 years…
What do you remember of those terrible days post-9/11, Brett?
Robert was a regular poster on North Stand Chat and a couple of days after the horrific attacks, people noticed that he hadn’t posted. This went on for a period of time and we later received the terribly sad news that Robert had lost his life. Moments like these, though, see the football family come together and Albion fans were determined to do something in Robert’s memory. That’s when the idea of a charity game against Crystal Palace came to fruition, the chance to bring two rivals together to do something good, and REMF was born…
And the Palace fans were keen to get involved, clearly…
They were behind it from the very start and that’s why we’ve had such longevity with these charity games against them. If it wasn’t for Palace, I’m not sure REMF would have taken off the way it did, and it showed that rivalries can be put aside for the greater good. As I mentioned, we are all part of a football family and while the rivalry is as strong as ever and will always be there, I do, deep down, have respect for them. Like us, they support their local team, when they have the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs on their doorsteps.
The first charity game was played that November. What are your memories?
I was only a spectator back then, but it was played at Southwick’s old ground, and we had over 1,000 people turn up to watch, which showed what this good cause meant to everyone. Palace won on penalties, but the overriding memory was of the thousands of pounds raised and it being an emotive occasion, given everything was still pretty raw at the time.
The money helped provide football equipment to Los Peladitos – a youth football team in Queens, New York. Why choose them?
Obviously it was New York, where Robert lived, where the tragedy happened, so it felt right for REMF to make its first donation there. Los Peladitos help promote the societal benefits of playing football, while helping underprivileged Latino children gain soccer scholarships, and not long after the donations were made, Robert’s parents, Laura and Doug, went out to see how the money was being spent. I’m sure it was a moving moment for them to see such positives come out of such a personal family tragedy.
The REMF match against Palace then became a popular event, with ex-pros turning out on a regular basis…
After the success of the first game, all the talk was about doing something the following year – and things just grew from there. Since then, we’ve had Andy Johnson and Shaun Derry turn out for Palace, while the likes of Garry Nelson, Peter Ward, Paul Rogers and Paul Watson have played for us. You could sense that rivalry was still there among them, and I remember the game we played at the Amex, Palace were 2-0 down at half-time and Johnson and Derry weren’t having any of it! Sadly for us, they both combined to score the winner in the very last minute! They properly celebrated too, which showed what it meant to them. For us Sunday league players though, we were just delighted to be running out at the Amex. Amazing!
It's not just football at REMF though, is it? You’ve held lots of fundraising activities and events…
We’ve held an annual golf day, with 20 four-ball teams, which is really good fun, and we’ve had quiz nights at the Amex. There have also been five-a-side tournaments, and plenty of people running for REMF in various marathons and half-marathons. This support primarily comes from Albion fans and, again, without them, the success of our fundraising doesn’t happen. We’ve raised over £300,000 since 2001, with beneficiaries right around the world, from Sussex and Croydon, through to Cambodia, Kenya and South Africa.
Which organisations benefit from REMF’s donations?
It used to be only kids’ football teams, to help with kit, equipment, footballs and even club facilities, but we’ve since expanded to include rugby, cricket, netball, even a synchronised swimming team! We’ve worked in tandem with Palace, to support sports clubs in Croydon, while our trips abroad have, for example, supported Coaching For Hope – which uses football to support children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. Closer to home, we provided AITC with a £30,000 minibus, and our good work has even spread to Australia, where Seagulls Downunder play an annual game against their Palace counterparts, with the money raised going to good causes out there. Our reach has been far and wide.
How do you decide where the money goes?
We provide a grant application form and, as a committee, we read through all the entries and decide from there. Can they prove they will spend the money wisely? Will it help children in the most deprived areas? There’s lots to consider before we make our decision, but we always look to help the most underprivileged when we can. That’s the best part – seeing our donations really make a difference.
With Robert’s parents now having passed away, did it feel the right time to call it a day?
That certainly played a part, while life post-pandemic, with the cost-of-living crisis, makes it hard to keep asking people for money. We will have one more football match against Palace this year, while youth clubs and children’s sports clubs are still invited to apply for funding while we remain functioning. It will be sad when we do finally call it a day, but I feel so proud to have been a part of something so great, which has helped raise so much money, and which has hopefully made a difference to so many people. Hopefully we’ve done Robert and his family proud.
About Robert
On the morning of 11, September 2001, Albion fan Robert Eaton was going about his usual day's work on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center in New York. But, as the terrorist-controlled planes struck, Robert became one of over 3,000 innocent lives lost.
Despite living in New York, Robert was an avid Seagulls fan – using online fans' forum North Stand Chat to keep up to date with all things Albion. Posting under the username ‘Ricky Marlowe's Hairpiece’, he was a popular figure among the site’s regulars.
Chances are he would have logged on later that day for the latest transfer news, club gossip and irreverent ramblings. Sadly, his posts stopped. Just as life did for so many people that tragic day.