“How can I help?” said Marcus Rashford when he first contacted food-redistribution charity FareShare back in February.
Fast-forward four months, and the 22-year-old Manchester United forward has raised more than £20m, shattering his initial target of £100,000.
In that time, he has also stood up against online bullying, supported the Black Lives Matter campaign and, last week, successfully campaigned for the government to extend the free-school-meals scheme over the summer holidays. As a result, 1.3m children in the UK will receive food vouchers outside of term time this summer.
“Marcus was worried about whether children would have access to school meals or food in general.” Alyson Walsh, FareShare’s commercial director, tells i. “I don’t think this comes from a place of ego. It’s been about asking the question, ‘Why are there children going hungry?’ and wanting to do something about it.”
Rashford has spoken about how his determination to tackle food poverty comes from his own experience of relying on free school meals as a child. And his activism comes as no surprise to those who have worked closely with him from a young age.
“He would speak about how his upbringing shaped him into the person he was,” says Tosin Kehinde, a friend and former United academy teammate. “He had such fond memories of playing with [local grassroots club] Fletcher Moss Rangers and he was very proud of the club. He always talked about going back and seeing the kids whenever he could. That showed a little bit of the side of him we’re seeing right now.
“For someone who had a lot going for him and a lot going on, he always tried to treat everyone with respect and he always tried to be as nice as possible to everyone. When you’re playing for Manchester United and England, with some people it might go to their heads and change their characters a little bit. But never has that been the case with Marcus.
“Even as big as he is now, I know that if I needed anything, he’d be there for me. That’s testament to him and it’s been the same as long as I’ve known him.”
Paul McGuinness, United’s former under-18s manager, saw glimpses of Rashford’s selflessness during youth tournaments.
“We went regularly to the Northern Ireland Milk Cup when they were 16-17. They were getting quite big crowds. There were kids coming up, wanting autographs. He would be one of the ones who really engaged with the fans. He saw it as part of the idea that he’s in a privileged position, that these kids, he could make them happy and he could do positive things.”
And the coach believes the maturity Rashford exudes, on and off the pitch, was partly fostered by his participation in training sessions alongside boys almost six years his senior.
“At 12, he was playing with people he was going to play in the first team with later – Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, people like that,” McGuinness remembers. “Those experiences have helped him.”
That maturity served Rashford well on his United debut, according to Frans Hoek, Louis van Gaal’s former assistant.
Rashford was thrust into the starting line-up for United’s Europa League tie against FC Midtjylland in February 2016 when Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up. The 18-year-old striker grasped his opportunity, scoring twice in a 5-1 win.
“There was a discussion with the coaches,” Hoek remembers of the scene inside the Old Trafford dressing room before the Midtjylland game. “Louis said, ‘No, no, no. I’m not going to change anything. Marcus is going to come in. He’s capable of doing it. I’m confident in that.’
“I felt he already had a very professional attitude, where you do everything you can, on and off the pitch, to be at your best, and you dare to ask questions and to give your opinion. He was very mature at that age.
“He’s a different character and different characters can do incredible things, things that surprise you,” Hoek continues, eluding to Rashford’s recent activism. “The beautiful thing for me is, he has a platform because of the player he is and he’s using it to help other human beings.”
Rashford played for Fletcher Moss Rangers – who have also produced the likes Wes Brown, Danny Welbeck and Jesse Lingard – between the ages of five and eight. Dave Horrocks, the club’s chairman, has already seen the impact of Rashford’s charitable work.
“I was out with six of our kids on Tuesday morning,” Horrocks says, “and it dawned on me that their parents were getting vouchers for school dinners. So what he’s done, he is giving something back to our parents in the club. We’ve probably got 250-300 kids in the club who have benefitted from that.
“It’s because he remembers his family, he remembers he was on school dinners and how difficult it was for his mum.
“It’s such a good thing that he’s done. He’s done it for the kids.”
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2VlpdIK
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