England footballer Raheem Sterling will launch his charity next month, more than a year after he first announced plans to create a foundation.
A spokesperson for the player confirmed that the charity, set up to help disadvantaged children, will be unveiled at a high-profile event in November. They did not provide any further details.
However, public documents show that Sterling is on the board of a new charity called 1692, which was registered with the Charity Commission during the summer. The other two trustees are Sterling's mother, Nadine Clarke, and Clive Ellington, one of his first football coaches.
1692
The register of charities shows that 1692, originally called The Power of 7, will work in England and Wales. Its charitable objectives are to support “children and young people up to the age of 25 years, who are in need because of youth, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage”.
It is exactly one year since Sterling announced that he intended to start a charity. The launch has been delayed in part because Sterling’s “time is limited due to professional commitments” and the need to work around the player’s other obligations, his spokesperson said in an email.
Sterling told The Sunday Times in October 2020 that he planned to create a foundation because he was “done talking” about social issues and wanted to commit to addressing them. He said of the charity: “I want this to be humongous, and not just humongous for myself but for the people involved.”
Donations unconfirmed
The Times reported that the millionaire footballer “is likely to personally commit a seven-figure sum” to the charity, and that Sterling had asked both his club and his main sponsors to match that donation.
However, Sterling’s spokesperson declined to say how much money the footballer will give to the foundation, nor whether any donations have been pledged by Manchester City or Sterling’s sponsors, which include Gilette, Pepsi and the boot manufacturer New Balance.
Sterling plays for Manchester City, and has been capped 71 times by England. He came 25th on the Sunday Times Young Rich List in 2020, with an estimated fortune of £28m.
The sports management company and clothing lines started by Sterling this year are also both called SixteenNinetyTwo. They are named in honour of the year when Kingston, the capital of Jamaica and Sterling’s birthplace, was founded.
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