Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who has received the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, said that the other Premier League captains were the catalyst in fundraising for the National Health Service (NHS) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Henderson played a pivotal role in fundraising as he helped form the "Players Together" initiative that encouraged professional footballers to donate to the NHS, later becoming an ambassador for the NHS Charities Together organisation which supports the staff, patients and volunteers of the 240 NHS charities in the UK.
"It's important for me to state that although the honour has been issued to me personally, the credit must be shared to a far larger group of people and I accept this in the knowledge I was part of something special, rather than the reason for it," Henderson told Liverpool's official website.
"The other Premier League captains were the catalyst and the rest of the players, including my own team-mates at Liverpool, were a driving force behind the scenes. Huge numbers of football fans from across the country also displayed great generosity in donating."
He has also supported Cybersmile's anti-cyberbullying campaign "People Not Profiles" by handing over control of his social media accounts to the foundation to raise awareness of the impact of online abuse.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling was another Premier League player in the list who has been appointed MBE for his services to racial equality in sport.
The 26-year-old has worked tirelessly to highlight racial inequality in sport, showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the Premier League's No Room For Racism Initiative, as well as launching his own foundation aimed at helping disadvantaged young people.
"My motivation regarding racial equality is trying to get the general public and people as a whole to understand the difficulties that certain diverse backgrounds face and just try to create an environment where everyone are equals because at the end of the day we all are," he told Man City's official website.
( With inputs from ANI )
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