Dele is backing charity to feed kids but says his input is nothing to what brilliant medics are doing IT’S THE NHS STAFF WHO ARE THE HEROES WE SHOULD NOW BE CHEERING
DELE ALLI is used to being the football hero but has been happy to swap places.
On Thursday night, Dele was out applauding the NHS heroes and is now doing his bit by supporting a charity, Magic Breakfasts, to provide healthy meals for nearly 50,000 schoolchildren every day.
In these strange and unprecedented times footballers have an important voice and can make a difference, despite being isolated like the rest of us.
The Tottenham midfielder, who has made a substantial donation himself, said: “What the NHS is doing is amazing and, as the general public, we can’t thank them enough for what they are doing. It’s amazing to see.
“We look at what they are doing and we appreciate the job they are doing and how amazing it is. That’s all we can do.
“We need to come together as a country. Whatever you do, everyone just has to stay positive and try to spread the right message.’’
Dele is one of a few England players who want to use their platform in a positive way, just as Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford and Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-arnold have done.
They can help make a difference to a generation who will listen to footballers rather than politicians.
‘Being out of school changes everything for kids so it’s great to provide breakfasts for them. The charity has done so well’
Magic Breakfasts, a charity designed to provide a healthy start to the day for kids, has never been more important than now when many schools are shut. Because of it, children can still go and eat or have meals delivered.
Dele, talking to Mirror Sport from his home via a video link, admits all players can make mistakes, himself included, but learning from them and becoming a role model is just as important.
“No one is used to this, everyone is having to go through a lot of changes with the lockdown,” said the midfielder, who will celebrate his 24th birthday next week.
“Just being out of school changes everything for kids so it’s great to provide breakfasts for them. The charity has done so well to keep it going.
“We are used to being role models, we know that every day we have to live our lives the right way and try to send a positive message.
“Even if we do make mistakes sometimes, we just have to try to stay positive and influence things in the right way.
“We have grown up in a generation when things like social media are such an important way of life and have such an influence on people.
The way we’ve all been brought up, knowing all the people you mentioned (Sterling, Rashford, Alexander-arnold), they are great guys who want to be good people as well as good footballers. That’s important in the national team as well.
“The main thing we are learning is that footballers are human too.
“We all make mistakes and everyone is vulnerable to the situation and what’s going on right now.”
Dele’s days in isolation consist of waking up and doing gym and training sessions while his Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho and coaching staff are beamed into all the players’ homes via video link.
He added: “The first few days was a bit of a test for us all because it was new to everyone. No one was an internet whizz, no one knew what they were doing.”
Dele says Spurs players will be fit and ready for when football resumes after the shutdown.
“At Tottenham we have all been staying fit, no one has taken this time as a break as such in terms of eating what we want, doing what we want,” he said. “Everyone’s been training. We have all been using the Zoom app in the morning, and doing the sessions as a team together.
“Normally when the season is coming to an end, you are prepared for it, and for the break, and then you get ready for the next season. So to stop like this when you are focused on the season... well, you do miss it.
“You do just want to be out there every day training and playing so it is hard, but I guess everyone’s adapting to it.’’