Barack Obama praises Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford over poverty campaign – BBC News

Barack Obama has praised the anti-poverty campaigning of England footballer Marcus Rashford.

In a Zoom meeting, the former United States president told Mr Rashford he was "way ahead of where I was" at that age.

The Manchester United footballer has run high-profile campaigns to prevent child hunger and illiteracy in disadvantaged young people across the UK, said: "When President Obama speaks, all you want to do is listen."

The former president told Mr Rashford that social movements often started with young people – but the footballer said they often "don’t understand how powerful their voice is".

He also said that when he was younger he had no expectation of becoming president: "If I had had more talent I would have probably preferred to be a professional athlete, like Marcus."

The men, in a meeting set up by the publishers Penguin, discussed the former president’s memoir and shared experiences, such as being raised by single mothers and their involvement in community projects.

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