The British charity Oxfam has won more than £100,000 (R1.24 million, $155,000) thanks to Roger Federer’s victory at Wimbledon - after being left a bet in a gambler’s will.
Tennis lover Nick Newlife, from Oxford, southern England, placed a bet of £1,520 at odds of 66 to 1 almost ten years ago with bookmakers William Hill on Federer winning seven or more Wimbledon titles.
But Newlife died in 2009 and left his entire estate — including the 2003 betting slip — to Oxfam, which provides emergency and development aid around the world.
The charity can now collect £101,840.
Federer beat Britain’s Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to join Pete Sampras and William Renshaw as a seven-time Wimbledon champion and rack up his 17th Grand Slam win.
Despite most of Britain rooting for Murray, who was bidding to become the first British Wimbledon men’s champion for 76 years, Oxfam said its staff were backing the Swiss tennis star in the hope of securing the giant windfall.
“All of Oxfam have been cheering Federer’s progress for the past couple of weeks,” said Oxfam’s Andrew Barton. “The real hero, though, must be Mr Newlife, for his generous gift and his tremendous sporting acumen.”
Oxfam, which earlier picked up £16,750 from another bet by Newlife that Federer would win 14 Grand Slam events, hopes the donations will inspire others to give.
It said the latest payout was enough to provide a month’s worth of food for 10,000 people hit by the food crisis in West Africa, where millions are affected by a drought in the Sahel region.
Federer's win a windfall for charity
The British charity Oxfam has won more than £100,000 (R1.24 million, $155,000) thanks to Roger Federer’s victory at Wimbledon - after being left a bet in a gambler’s will.
Tennis lover Nick Newlife, from Oxford, southern England, placed a bet of £1,520 at odds of 66 to 1 almost ten years ago with bookmakers William Hill on Federer winning seven or more Wimbledon titles.
But Newlife died in 2009 and left his entire estate — including the 2003 betting slip — to Oxfam, which provides emergency and development aid around the world.
The charity can now collect £101,840.
Federer beat Britain’s Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to join Pete Sampras and William Renshaw as a seven-time Wimbledon champion and rack up his 17th Grand Slam win.
Despite most of Britain rooting for Murray, who was bidding to become the first British Wimbledon men’s champion for 76 years, Oxfam said its staff were backing the Swiss tennis star in the hope of securing the giant windfall.
“All of Oxfam have been cheering Federer’s progress for the past couple of weeks,” said Oxfam’s Andrew Barton. “The real hero, though, must be Mr Newlife, for his generous gift and his tremendous sporting acumen.”
Oxfam, which earlier picked up £16,750 from another bet by Newlife that Federer would win 14 Grand Slam events, hopes the donations will inspire others to give.
It said the latest payout was enough to provide a month’s worth of food for 10,000 people hit by the food crisis in West Africa, where millions are affected by a drought in the Sahel region.
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