He stayed til the early hours taking pictures with fans.
Football fans will understand the significance and excitement of legendary football player Kevin Keegan showing up to a charity event last week.
Leicestershire & Rutland Freemasons raised funds for charity on November 18 at the Leicester Tigers ground. Keegan was their guest of honour.
Nearly 800 local Freemasons and guests descended on the Tigers' stadium, for an evening of entertainment and fundraising. There were raffles, donations, and a live silent auction.
A tremendous amount was raised in excess of £75,000, which is being presented to the Masonic Charitable Foundation to support local and good causes.
Peter Kinder, head of Leicestershire & Rutland Freemasons said, “A huge thank you to Kevin, Roger, Ed and the organising team for putting on such a spectacular evening and helping us to achieve our aim of raising £1.8m for charity before the end of 2022.”
Host for the evening was Roger Dakin. He played hockey for England in the 1970s and coached the team just before they became successful.
A well-known face amongst sports fans is Ed Giddins, who after a successful cricket career, which included representing England at Test level, became a much in-demand after-dinner and motivational speaker, event organiser and charity auctioneer.
Ed and his team expertly guided the room through the auctions, with prizes such as gifts and sporting memorabilia through to holidays and sporting event tickets.
Kevin Keegan appears on stage
Last to the stage was the evening’s main attraction, Kevin Keegan. After making 124 appearances for Scunthorpe Kevin was signed by Bill Shankly, joining Liverpool in 1971.
After three league titles, two UEFA cups, one FA Cup and one European Cup, 323 appearances and 100 goals; Kevin joined Hamburg in 1977.
Representing England on 63 occasions Kevin captained his country 31 times and scored 21 goals.
Playing spells at Southampton and Newcastle followed before Kevin returned to Newcastle as manager, achieving promotion from division 2 at the first attempt in 1992 before narrowly missing out on the league title in 1996.
Further spells in management followed at Fulham Manchester City, England and Newcastle.
Kevin took the audience on a trip down memory lane, as he presented his life, from a young lad through to the end of his playing career, in a hugely entertaining way.
He was delighted to stay to the early hours of the morning signing autographs and posing for photographs with anyone who wanted one.
Written by Kerry Smith.
Kerry is editor of Cross Production's Niche Magazine in Leicester and has a degree in film and journalism. She writes about business news, entertainment, and local people.
