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Marcus Rashford: Manchester United star is an authentic voice of a generation fighting for fundamental change

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Getty Images

Marcus Rashford’s efforts to feed vulnerable children have earned him a doctorate, an MBE and universal praise over the past three months.

As for BBC Sports Personality of the Year – it’s a one-horse race. But for this remarkable young man from Manchester, it was never about the personal accolades. And he will consider them worthless if he cannot convince those in power to do more to end child food poverty.

With Rashford, it comes from the heart. That is abundantly clear with every tweet or open letter he pens. He is doing this for the children in need because he was one of those children in need.

That is what makes his voice so authentic – and why MPs are facing a losing battle in their attempts to resist his cause.

This 23-year-old with around 20 million followers across social media is a voice of a generation – and ministers are finding him even harder to handle than Premier League defenders.

He will not go away quietly. He will embarrass them and shame them until they act. And to look at his timeline on Twitter on Friday was a measure of his influence.

After the Government voted against extending free school meal vouchers during half term, councils and communities up and down the country have stepped in to fill the void and shine a light on those in power, who were prepared to cut so many vulnerable families adrift.

It is a personal triumph for Rashford, whose achievements off the pitch are overshadowing those on it. That’s because he understands how fortunate he is to be in a position where he could be scoring a dramatic late winner for Manchester United in a Champions League tie in Paris, as he did this week.

He is convinced the system works against people like him and hundreds of thousands of children, who dream of following in his footsteps.

Rashford acknowledges the help and kindness of the community around him that enabled him to make the most of the natural talents that had United coaches earmarking him as a unique prospect from an early age.

But long before he earned the riches that come with being a Premier League footballer, was the struggle, with his mother, Melanie, earning minimum wage and having to rely on breakfast clubs, free school meals, soup kitchens and food banks.

Marcus Rashford continues to take the Government to task as he campaigns for an end to child food poverty
Marcus Rashford continues to take the Government to task as he campaigns for an end to child food poverty

Each year his family would travel to Northern Moor in Manchester to collect their Christmas dinners. That has lived with Rashford long after he burst onto the scene at Old Trafford with two goals on his debut, aged 18, against Midtjylland.

His breakthrough set him on course for superstardom, but it is a testament to him that he never forgot his roots. From the age of 11, when placed in digs as United sought to develop this generational talent, Rashford always vowed to fight for those who are vulnerable – just like he was.

If the Government thought their decision to extend the voucher scheme over the summer would satisfy him, they were wrong. It only empowered him to realise what he could achieve. He is not looking for a short-term fix, but a fundamental change of the system.

His work with FareShare has provided more than four million meals for children - and he’s still fighting for more. He’s caught the Government on the hop, with sustained campaigning and the might of rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation agency behind him. It is slick, but, crucially, it’s genuine.

He is a young man with a cause and the wherewithal to exploit it to maximum, which is what makes him so dangerous to those who stand in his way.

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