Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford dedicated his MBE to his mother as he pledged there was more to come in his campaign to help disadvantaged children.
The 24-year-old striker said his motivation was to give the nation’s youngsters the things he did not have when growing up and stressed every child deserves an “opportunity”.
Rashford waged a campaign last year to force the Government to provide free meals to vulnerable youngsters in England throughout the school holidays during the coronavirus pandemic, causing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make a U-turn.
Speaking after a Windsor Castle investiture ceremony, the player said he would be handing his MBE to his mother Melanie, who raised him and his four siblings.
He said: “It seems like there’s a lot going on but for me to put it in the simplest way – I’m trying to give children the things I didn’t have when I was kid. If I did have, I would have been much better off and had many more options in my life.
“I’m just giving them the opportunity and I think they deserve the opportunity – what child doesn’t? For me it’s a punishment for them not to be getting things like meals or supplies of books.
“And if we can all come together to make these small changes – they are small changes but they become big changes once you see the rewards of it – I see a generation that’s coming after me as a very special generation.
"They just need a bit of guidance and pointing in the right direction and what I’m doing is giving them that.”
The footballer became the youngest recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester, which he received last month in recognition of his campaign against child poverty.
Rashford will also be honoured with a special award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony on December 19, in honour of his work off the pitch.
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