Everton and West Ham to come together to remember Bill Kenwright
Joint-tribute will be held for the Everton chairman and Sir Bobby Charlton at London Stadium on Sunday
West Ham United and Everton will come together at London Stadium on Sunday to honour the life of Bill Kenwright CBE after the Everton chairman passed away at the age of 78 this week.
Tributes will be paid to Kenwright and Sir Bobby Charlton, with a period of applause to remember both men who had a big impact on English football.
Sir Bobby’s England team-mate Sir Geoff Hurst, Bill’s former colleague and friend David Moyes, and current Everton head coach Sean Dyche will lay wreaths in tribute to their memory.
West Ham will also place a wreath on the seat where Mr Kenwright would normally have sat in their directors’ area.
A statement on Everton’s website reads: “Both Bill and Bobby were gentlemen cut from the same cloth. Boys from working class backgrounds, they became men who espoused modesty, humility and loyalty.”
Everton have been paying their respects throughout this week. Among those tributes, Dyche and Seamus Coleman laid a wreath outside Goodison Park and spoke of the influence Kenwright had on their careers.
Dyche said: “His influence in bringing me to Everton in the first place was important and I have nothing but gratitude and respect for his unwavering support of myself, the staff and our players.
“His story – a boyhood supporter who went on to become chairman – is something so rare in the modern game, especially at the top level. He always believed in Everton and stood by the club, even in the toughest times. He was steadfast until the very end.”
Coleman said: “Bill Kenwright was more than a chairman to me. He was a friend.
“The way he treated me and my family when I first came to the club from Ireland was incredible. It meant the world to us and was a massive part of me settling in and having a career with Everton.”
