England midfielder Jude Bellingham will be cheered by children at a school in Mombasa, Kenya, as the Three Lions go up against France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Over the years, children from the Miche Bora Nursery and Primary School have received support from the Borussia Dortmund star.
According to the school's founder, Rita Fowler, Bellingham has supported the school since he was 15.
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"Because Kenyans are football mad and all boys [hope they] are going to be famous footballers and escape from the poverty they're in, they were just so thrilled and amazed,” Riter Fowler told BBC News.
The school, run by the Mustard Seed Project charity, now supports 317 children aged three to 14 who are thrilled to be associated with the 19-year-old midfielder.
“I had told the children two-and-a-half years ago that Jude was one of our supporters. Although he was well known in the UK, nobody [in Kenya] had heard of him.
“This time, when he was mentioned, they were so excited. They knew who he was. They were all talking to each other, saying, ‘It’s Jude Bellingham’," she added.
Fowler's late husband, Geoff set up the project after visiting the area on holiday in 2009.
She added that the organisation was struggling due to the drought in Kenya, the after-effects of Covid and the war in Ukraine, which increased the price of basic food.
"Without our feeding programme many of our children would starve and we also feed some of the families during the school holidays," she added.
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