In June, Marcus Rashford, the British football star who plays for Manchester United and England's national team, launched a partnership with Macmillan Children's Books and Magic Breakfast for the Marcus Rashford Book Club, which aims to develop a love of reading and literacy. He has just released his own children's book, You Are a Champion: Be the Best You Can Be (co-authored by Carl Anka), and was recently featured in conversation with former U.S. President Barack Obama. Rashford has also used his social media presence to compel the British government to reverse policy on free school meals for the country's most disadvantaged children.
But let's talk about last Sunday, when England played Italy in the finals of the UEFA European Cup championships. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after regulation and overtime, which meant it had to be settled by penalty kicks: five players from each side going one-on-one against the opposing team's goalie. (Trust me, if you don't know what that means, you're better off. It's a terrible way to decide a game)
England lost the match after three players (Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho) missed their penalty kicks. It happens. In fact it happens a lot; in fact, England's manager, Gareth Southgate, missed his own penalty kick in the 1996 European Championships to eliminate England in a semi-final match.
Coincidentally, the three players who missed on Sunday were Black men, which sparked a torrent of racist abuse on social media from rabid "supporters," some of whom had already embarrassed themselves before the game when ticketless mobs stormed Wembley Stadium and essentially rendered both Covid checkpoints and security ineffective.
There has since been plenty of media coverage of the day and its aftermath. The Big Issue reported that "the Metropolitan police say they will investigate the 'offensive and racist' posts directed at players. Greater Manchester police are also conducting an inquiry into 'racially aggravated damage' after a mural in south Manchester celebrating local hero Marcus Rashford was defaced."
Withington Walls, a street art project in the Manchester suburb, raised almost £40,000 (about $55,605) in less than 24 hours to repair and protect the mural. The group said: "The England team may have lost, but they have done us proud on and off the pitch. This team has shown us the nation we can be. They have proved that diversity is our strength."
And even though it might be perceived as a small victory in the larger context of what happened (has happened, keeps on happening), Rashford's You Are a Champion, a "guide for young people in which the footballer shares stories from his own life and reveals how to 'dream big' and 'find your team,' " is at the top of the bestseller charts in the U.K., the Guardian noted.
Indie booksellers have launched a range of crowdfunding initiatives this week to get copies of the book to as many children as possible. Book-ish in Crickhowell, Wales, has raised more than £8,000 (about $11,120) to buy copies for local secondary school children, with Mirror Me Write in Manchester, Gullivers Bookshop in Wimborne Minster, and Griffin Books in Penarth, Wales, undertaking similar initiatives. Pan Macmillan has pledged an additional 20,000 free copies to the crowdfunding bookshops' campaigns.
"Marcus was already a hero in our eyes--for all that he has done and for all that he stands for," Winstone's Hunting Raven in Frome posted. "His maturity in the wake of the European Cup Final and all that followed is yet another mark of this young man's formidable character. Which makes his motivational book for young readers all the more prescient."
Vivian Archer of Newham Bookshop in London said, "I am overwhelmed by the generosity of people who have donated over £1,000 [about $1,390] to get his book to local children. One person who bid for a signed copy said he will donate that to a child who could be inspired to go on to great things. Thank you Marcus."
Emma Corfield-Walters of Book-ish told the Bookseller: "Especially on the back of everything that's happened with the Euros we just thought his whole story is really inspirational and I wouldn't want the fact that they didn't win to blight that. All of the good work that he's done needs to be at the fore of everything now and all of the conversations that we have because he's just an inspirational figure.... You know, I don't watch football, but I watched some of the match last night because I thought the team really deserved to win for all of the things they have been doing and what they represent and how we want things to go forward. I think lots of people want to support that and put some money where their thoughts and their sentiments are."
In a compelling note posted on Twitter, Rashford observed: "I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty wasn't good enough, it should have gone in, but I will never apologize for who I am or where I came from.... I dreamt of days like this. The messages I've received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I'm Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that. For all the kind messages, thank you. I'll be back stronger. We'll be back stronger."