A celebration of the life of footballing legend Jimmy Hill will take place in Coventry this afternoon. A string of high-profile names are expected to attend the service at the city Cathedral.
Thousands are set to line the streets to pay their tributes to the great man. Jimmy’s widow, Bryony, said that Coventry was always in his heart. He used to manage the club, and was also the chairman after being managing director.
Hill passed away at the age of 87 in December 2015 and several have spread their memories of the iconic figure, who also hosted the popular football highlights show Match of the Day for 16 years.
Amongst those who are attending the event, which begins at 5.30pm, include commentator John Motson, ex-Coventry City player and manager Bobby Gould and also Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor will also be speaking.
In his playing career, Hill played for Brentford and most notably Fulham, and his widow, Bryony, told the BBC that hosting the event in Coventry made perfect sense,
“It was where he was happiest. He had a lovely life there, involvement with the people of Coventry and Warwickshire. He loved the whole of the Midlands.”
Although the event is ticket only, those without tickets are encouraged to congregate in University Square, where loudspeakers has been installed.
Coventry Telegraph understands that amongst the others expected to attend include current England national team manager Roy Hodgson and former BBC colleagues Gary Linekar and Alan Hanson. 900 tickets were released for the event at the Cathedral, which were sold out within hours of going on sale.
