Premier League referees Jon Moss and Martin Atkinson are taking their pre-season training to the next level as they hit the road to raise funds for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal and the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation.The match officials have launched the Whistle Stop Tour and plan to visit every Premier League football club by bicycle in a nine-day challenge.
The tour begins on Tuesday, July 12 at Watford’s Vicarage Road, finishing nine days later at The Stadium of Light in Sunderland and covering an estimated 1,000 miles along the way.
The referees are aiming to raise £50,000 for the two charities and have already reached the £10,000 mark even before they set off.
The pair will be joined by colleagues from the Premier Game Match Officials (PGMOL) as they pedal to raise funds.
Jon Moss said: “This is a major challenge and we are looking forward to it with some excitement and some trepidation. We really will be seeing the Premier League clubs from a different perspective and we look forward to meeting both club personnel and fans along the way. Our chosen charities are both relatively small but we have seen their work at first hand and what a tremendous job they do and that is why we wanted to raise funds for them.”
The Tour begins with the London clubs, going south to Southampton and AFC Bournemouth before a day-and-a-half journey to South Wales, to visit Swansea City.
Moss and Atkinson will then pass through the Midlands, calling at West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City before heading northwest to Stoke City, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Burnley.
They turn east to cross the breadth of England to go to Hull City, before visiting heading north for Middlesbrough and finishing in Sunderland.
The Chairman of the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation, Peter McCormick OBE, said: “This is going to be a terrific event and I cannot thank the members of the PGMOL enough for deciding to help us to support young people in Yorkshire to achieve their full potential. They have supported us and attended the Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards for a number of years and we are delighted they have chosen us!”
Jane Tomlinson Appeal Event Manager Holli Kellett said: “The Whistle Stop Tour is a really exciting event and we are urging everyone to get behind the team and support them on their ride. We are extremely grateful to be one of the charities benefiting from the challenge and the money raised will make a huge difference and help us to continue our support of children’s and cancer charities, we can’t thank the Premier League and the team enough for their continued support.”
Please support the Whistle Stop Tour by visiting the fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/WhistleStopTour.