Football star Marcus Rashford was presented with an honorary degree

Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford was awarded an honorary degree by Manchester University at Old Trafford on Thursday in recognition of his active work off the field in the fight against child poverty.

At just 23 years of age, Rashford became the youngest recipient of an honorary doctorate from the university.

Former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who also has an honorary degree from the university, joined Rashford’s friends and family – including his tearful mum – to see him receive the award from vice-chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell.

Rashford waged a high-profile campaign last year to persuade the British government to provide free meals to vulnerable youngsters in England throughout the school holidays during the coronavirus pandemic, eventually forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson into a U-turn.

He has also been an outspoken critic of the government’s decision to scrap the UK# 20-a-week (USD 2.73) increase to Universal Credit, introduced to support people on low incomes during the pandemic.