In Sunday night’s international match against Belgium, Marcus Rashford will don specially-made Nike boots with words from children who have benefited from the England striker’s campaign against food poverty.

The Manchester United player, who was acknowledged for his work to feed impoverished children on Friday night and was given an MBE, will don black boots bearing children’s words along with the phrase “I am the future of.”  

‘Inspiring millions and giving a voice to the future generation,’ the England Twitter account wrote alongside images of the new footwear and Rashford himself holding them to announce the announcement.

A quotation from boxing icon Muhammad Ali appears on one of the laces as well: “Recognise how every moment of our journey is an important part of the growth of our soul.” 

In a pivotal UEFA Nations League match, England will play Belgium at Wembley Stadium at 5:00 p.m. Rashford will start in the starting lineup. 

The 22-year-old has received a lot of praise for his efforts to fight child food poverty in the UK, including pressuring Boris Johnson to rescind his decision to provide 1.3 million children free school meal coupons during the lockdown.

He wrote on Instagram, “This is a very special moment for myself and my family, but especially for my mum who is the real deserving recipient of the honour.” 

“We still have a long way to go in defending our most vulnerable children.” If I did not take advantage of this opportunity to respectfully urge the Prime Minister, who recommended me for this honour, to support our children during the October half-term with an extension of the voucher scheme, as the furlough scheme comes to an end and we face increased unemployment, I would be doing an injustice to the families I have met and spoken with.

It’s just another band-aid solution, but at least it will relieve millions of parents of one more concern.

Together, let’s declare that no child in the UK should go to bed hungry. A child’s inability to obtain food is never their fault.

Following the revelation that 900,000 additional children had signed up for free school meals as a result of the Rashford made his appeal. 

The 22-year-old said that, should he be granted the honour, he would unquestionably accompany his mother Melanie to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen.