Marcus Rashford

Born into a working-class family in Manchester, Rashford joined Manchester United’s academy system at the age of seven, although he frequently found it difficult to attend training as his mother- a single-parent – was often working. Rashford’s childhood experiences of poverty and the amount his mother worked in order to provide for him and his three siblings went on to inform both his activism and writing.

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Biography

Fast-tracked through the Manchester United academy system due to his precocious footballing talent, Rashford made his senior team debut as a substitute in 2015 and his full-team debut in February 2016 in a UEFA Europa League clash against Danish club Midtjylland in which he scored twice. He also scored on his first Premier League start against Arsenal three days later and on his international debut against Australia in May. In a distinguished international career, he has represented England at the 2016 and 2020 UEFA European Championships and the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.

Rashford has used the platform afforded by his sporting celebrity to campaign tirelessly for an end to child poverty in the UK, through various charitable initiatives and successfully lobbying the Conservative government for an extension to the free school meals programme during the coronavirus pandemic. Rashford’s commitment to the issue of child literacy stemmed from his involvement in 2020’s World Book Day where he supported a campaign to share a million stories. In November of that year, he teamed up with publisher Macmillan to launch a book club aimed at encouraging vulnerable and underprivileged children to escape into reading. He also wrote a motivational book for children entitled You Are a Champion which was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and won Book of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards. His other non-fiction works are You Can Do It and Heroes, and he has also penned a series of children’s novels called The Breakfast Club Adventures inspired by his own childhood experiences and his campaigning work.