Marcus Rashford MBE: Not All Heroes Wear Capes

 

If I had to describe Marcus Rashford in one or two words, it would be 'a Role-model'. Every time I would see him play, the inner me would jump out of excitement like a 5-year-old because of what this lad is capable of producing.

Marcus Rashford MBE (born on October 31st, 1997), is a first-generation Englishman of a middle-class family and is a descendant of Saint Kitts and Nevis. He was brought up by his mother, Melanie Rashford (a single mother), along with two brothers and a sister. When 

 he was 5, he joined the 'Fletcher Moss Rangers', a junior football club, and became the center of attention because of his talent.

During his stint with the 'Fletcher Moss Rangers', Marcus was noticed by a talent scout. His performances at the age of 7 are what really did thrust him into the spotlight as Marcus was enrolled at the academy of the prestigious club 'Manchester United.'

He made his senior debut for Manchester United in 2015 against Midtjylland in a UEFA Europa League match at the age of 17. He has managed to score a goal in his debut games for Premier League, UEFA Europa League and Champions League, FA Cup and for England. He won the 'Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year' award in the 2015-16 season. In 2016, he became the runner-up in the race for the 'Golden Boy' award for the best European player under the age of 21.

After his debut for MUFC back in 2015, Rashford has managed to score80 goals and give 47 assists in the 217 games that he has played for the club. Ever since his senior debut for England, he has a total of 40 caps with a total of 14 goals and 6 assists.

Marcus, known for his composure and calmness, is said to have 'ice in his veins.' His most memorable goals have to be the penalty he scored against the French Giants; Paris Saint Germain in a Champions League game which sent them through the quarter-finals (due to the 'away goal' advantage) in the 2018-19 season and the free-kick he took against Chelsea and scored from 40 yards away from the goal as he sent his team through to the next round after a 2-1 win over at Stamford Bridge in the 2019-20 season.

Not to forget his first ever career hat-trick against RB Leipzig in October 2020 after a whopping 5-0 victory in a Champions League group stage match.

Other than showing his skills and dedication on the pitch, Marcus has shown his hard work and dedication off the pitch as well. In the month of March, all schools and colleges across the United Kingdom had shut down due to the pandemic caused by covid-19. This meant that all the children who relied on these free school meals and breakfast clubs through the vouchers would not be getting them.

Marcus started a petition to end child food poverty. It topped a million signatures as thousands of cafes, restaurants, and local businesses stepped in to support struggling families without access to free school meals over the half-term holiday.

A million signatures still weren't enough for the Media Personality Katie Hopkins as she rejected the idea of providing free meals to the children across the UK.

 Thankfully, FareShare, UK's largest national network of charitable food distributors, reached out to help Rashford in carrying out his campaign. "When I heard about the schools shutting down, that means free meals for some kids that they're not getting. I remember when I was in school, I was on free meals, and my mum who was working and wouldn't get home until around 6. There are kids in much more difficult situations that don't get that meal at home.. and I wanted to make a positive influence. We managed to get that $150,000 mark, which means that we get to feed more than 400,000 children across the UK." ~Marcus Rashford on working with the FareShare UK.

Marcus Rashford writes to the government saying "This is not about politics, it's about humanity. Can we all not agree that no child should be going to bed hungry? As a family, we relied on breakfast clubs and free school meals, and the kind actions of neighbours and coaches. Wembley Stadium could be filled more than twice with children who have had to skip meals during lockdown due to their family conditions. I would be doing myself, my family and my community an injustice if I didn't stand here today with my voice and my platform and ask for your help."

After seeing Rashford do his best to try to eradicate child hunger all across the country, within 24 hours the UK government took a U-turn and decided to spend $180million on free meals during the summer holidays to help Rashford in his campaign for the children in need.

Not long after this, Marcus became the youngest person to receive an honorary doctorate, the highest form of award The University of Manchester has to offer. "Star footballer turned political activist Marcus Rashford has been honoured by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his campaign to feed vulnerable children during the coronavirus crisis." Following his MBE achievement, the British Fashion house, Burberry, has teamed up with Marcus on a new initiative in which it will help to support young people around the world.

Marcus didn't just stop at providing children with free food, on November 17th, the England international footballer and child poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford announced that he is launching a book club. The initiative will distribute books to children, in order to promote reading and literacy. "I am launching a book club so that every child can experience 'escapism'." Marcus was also responsible for promoting equal pay among the England men's and women's national teams.  

Manchester United's legendary former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is set to pledge up to $2.5million towards the FareShare charity. Sir Alex said this when asked what advice he would give to Marcus; "I think he should give me some advice because what he's doing at 23 years of age, is beyond honourable. And the football hasn't changed him. There's danger in football and money that it can change people. Rashford is exactly where he deserves to be and we all expect huge things coming from him on as well as off the pitch."

After receiving his MBE Marcus also learned sign language when he was asked to judge a poetry event in a "special kids' school."

On November 26th, Marcus Rashford also won the GQ's 'Campaigner of The Year award' which he received in the kitchen of his primary school as a resemblance for providing free meals to over a million children across the UK. 

Most athletes of this generation play an important role in inspiring the children as the children mainly look up to them and try to impersonate them. Marcus Rashford is definitely one of the most most important and inspiring athletes that kids these days should look up to. Some people spend their entire lives trying to achieve what this guy has at such a young age. He sets up a perfect example of how you should make good use of the huge platform and the fan following you have.

As a fan of Manchester United, I've watched this man grow not only as a player but also as a human. It gives the fans of football as a whole, immense pleasure every time his name occurs on any news channel because, when any other celebrity did not care to even think about the problems these kids must be facing, a footballer from a small town in Manchester, stepped up and made the difference. If football hadn't given him such a huge platform then he wouldn't be able to achieve what he has. Therefore, FOOTBALL made the difference. We've all said it before and we'll say it again, football is so much more than just a game.

Even after all that he has done for the community and everything he has achieved, sadly, he is still the most trolled person on Twitter. Hard to believe that man who does such blessed things still has so many haters waiting to troll him. 

I am more than happy to admit that I look up to him because of his hard work on and off the pitch, his ability to not give up no matter how many times you fail or what others think about you, and his humility even after achieving so much at such a young age. The fact that money and fame didn't drive him insane, instead he did not forget where he came from and it turned him into a better person. A perfect role-model. He teaches us to be destined for greatness by keeping our heads but working with our heads low. His down to earth attitude reminds us never to forget where we came from regardless of what we have achieved.

I guess it is safe to say that at times of crises, Rashford wasn't the hero these children needed, but the hero they deserved...