Evening Standard comment: Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling deserve our support | U-turn needed on FSM | Sort test and trace

It used to be that when a footballer’s name was strewn across the front pages, it made for grim reading. Think drugs, alcohol or being clocked travelling at 110mph in a gold Lamborghini.

But in these challenging times it is young, English footballers who are dominating the headlines for all the right reasons.

Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United forward, is taking on the Government over its refusal to provide free school meal vouchers to pupils during school holidays.

Across town, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has announced plans to create a foundation aimed at supporting disadvantaged young people.

Both players come from humble beginnings and have used their platforms to advocate for social change. Rashford grew up as one of five children while his mother worked full-time on minimum wage. Sterling was raised in the shadow of Wembley Stadium in north-west London.

Football can be synonymous with greed. But football clubs have long been at the core of their communities. At the height of the pandemic in the spring, for example, Chelsea provided free accommodation to NHS staff at Stamford Bridge’s Millennium Hotel.

When football gets it right, it can be a tremendous force for good. Young men like Rashford and Sterling deserve our support.

U-turn needed on FSM

What Rashford recognises is that the health of Britain’s young people should be a priority for us all — especially now.

That is why our Food For London Now appeal has long been aiding children, and this half term will provide 25,000 free meals for pupils to tackle hunger in the capital during this pandemic.

It is bewildering that the Government is refusing to give way on this and back his demand. Rashford has read the mood of the people far more effectively than our Prime Minister.

Tory MPs have already said they regret last week’s vote, and this morning Matt Hancock was falsely claiming the PM was in talks with Rashford (quickly dispelled by the footballer).

The Government is making more than a PR mistake. Rashford’s campaign is urgent. The PM should swallow his pride and U-turn now with grace and humility.

Sort test and trace

The Health Secretary today insisted the Government was on track to meet its target of 500,000 Covid-19 tests a day by the end of October. That means an increase of 38 per cent in just nine days.

Perhaps, unlike previous promises on track and trace, this one will come true. But whether it does or not, the blunt facts are that the project’s problems go far beyond the number of tests available.

Test turnaround times are still too slow — last week they soared to twice their target. Meanwhile the number of close contacts reached by the system hovers around 60 per cent — a far cry from the 80 per cent Sage says is needed for it to be effective.

The Standard has repeatedly called for the Government to throw its whole weight behind track and trace, which holds the key to learning to live with the virus and avoiding painful lockdowns. It is not too late to do so.

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School meals row intensifies as Rashford contradicts PM talks claim