Doha, 30 Nov. In the summer of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, one of the decisions of the British government to turn off the public spending tap was to cut food aid to disadvantaged children. British schools have stopped offering hot packs to children who, with schools closed, couldn’t eat at home. Marcus Rashford, who grew up in a very humble family, could not afford it.
Rashford grew up on the outskirts of Manchester, the youngest in a family of five children and a single mother. “I had three jobs and if I didn’t have them we wouldn’t have been able to cook. Sometimes the situation was so bad that I’d rather have my kids eat and I was left with nothing. Sometimes we didn’t even have ‘Get a loaf of bread.’ I’m ashamed to admit it, but it is,” her mother Melanie acknowledged as she helped Marcus prepare food to send to the children.
Because Rashford, from the beginning, it was clear that he could not stand by while the government preferred to look the other way. In one of the most critical economic moments of the decade, 30% of schoolchildren risked being excluded and Johnson, together with 300 other British MPs, argued that the aid was already enough. What Rashford didn’t know at this point was that, while the children were starving, illegal food and alcohol parties were being organized in Downing Street.
Rashford began collecting signatures, asking people to demonstrate for a cause that he had lived in his own flesh, along with his siblings Dwayne, Dane, Chantelle and Claire.
The petition was approaching half a million signatures, but what Rashford didn’t expect is that local businesses, small restaurants and city halls would come to his call and selflessly begin packing food packages to overcome the lack of response due by some rulers. “Politicians are more interested in their struggles than in helping those in need,” Rashford said, raising the clamor to a point Boris Johnson could not bear.
He gave in once, gave the kids summer meals, but Rashford didn’t stop there. Given the uncertainty of the coming months, he wanted the Government to secure a 200 million euro package with which to finance the next three holiday windows. More than twelve weeks a year where children depended on their parents’ ability to put a plate of food on their table.
The yes was not immediate. He had to get to work and pack the food boxes himself, bringing out the colors to a Boris Johnson who ended up pulling out his phone and calling Rashford. Green light to the floor.
With his help, Rashford has ensured that nearly 2 million UK households have cushioned the economic setback of the pandemic and, together with the FareShare platform, has collected the equivalent of 21 million plates of food for British families .
His actions, in his early 20s, earned him an Order of the British Empire, awarded by Prince William, although they also earned him criticism from the more radical sector of English football. Those fanatics who have argued that his worst moment at Manchester United is intrinsically linked to spending time on non-sporting matters.
The fateful point was the penalty he missed in the Eurocup final in 2021, a mistake which earned him thousands of racist slurs on social media and whose hatred overshadowed all the good he had done off the Rashford pitch.
His brace against Wales brought praise to him. “It’s been a very difficult road for him,” admitted Gareth Southgate, the man who gave him a hug when he was replaced on Tuesday. An almost paternal hug, the one Marcus didn’t have.
In the glory of the win, one of the most important of his career, Rashford looked crestfallen at a press conference after receiving the man of the match award. “One of my best friends passed away a few days ago,” said the Englishman, explaining the celebration to him by pointing to the sky. “He had cancer, it was a great support for me”, admitted a special footballer, different from all those who flee from politics and who gets involved when people need it. Marcus Rashford, the best.
Manuel Sanchez Gomez
