England midfielder Mason Mount celebrated his managerial debut this week as his team, Wishes United FC, defeated the Mascots 32-2 at St George's Park. The winning side consisted of 11 children with serious health conditions, who were treated like Premier League footballers for a two-day experience ahead of June's World Cup.
Supported by Manchester United and England star Luke Shaw, and with former England player turned pundit Jamie Redknapp managing the losing team of club mascots, Mount said: 'I'm blown away by what we created.' One of his team's stars, Max Shepherd, aged 10 from Aylesbury, celebrated his birthday with the win. Max, who has been in remission from leukaemia for two years, said: 'It's the best birthday I've ever had. When I grow up, I want to be a footballer. This has given me a taste of how cool it would be.'
As part of the experience, the Wishes United squad stayed at the Hilton hotel, held a press conference, had a team talk, were chauffeur-driven to venues, and trained with UEFA coaches before the match, which was overseen by a UEFA referee. The event was hosted at St George's Park, the Football Association's elite national football centre.
Mount, who funded the event himself, said: 'These children have been through so much, this is a moment of joy. They threw themselves into it. There were no worries at all. For two days they didn't have to think of anything else, just be in the moment and enjoy it.' He added: 'Football has given me so much. They brought me up to be a person that would always give back and help other people.'
Make-A-Wish UK CEO Jason Suckley said: 'Wishes are about joy and there's no better example of that than today.' Mount reflected: 'As a child, this would have been my wish for sure. I had a dream of playing football for my country, and I'm so fortunate that it happened.'
Max's mother, Laura, said: 'The last few years have been really tough, so it's been nice to have a celebration today. He finds it really hard to make friends, he didn't go to school for two years, because he was going through chemo then had a bone marrow transplant. To watch him make friends here has been wonderful, so emotional.'
