Raheem Sterling will provide 550 tickets for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final – to allow pupils at his former school to watch the big match.
The generous Manchester City winger stunned staff at the Etihad Stadium by making the request ahead of their 5.30pm clash with Brighton and Hove Albion under the arch.
Sources have told Sportsmail that in a joint operation with the club England man Sterling, 24, will meet pupils from Ark Elvin Academy in Wembley at City’s training complex on Thursday after they travel north from London. Then on Saturday, they will make the short journey to the stadium for the big match.
One insider said: ‘Raheem wanted to do something for the kids from his old school and approached the club to see what could be done. They are going to come up and meet him and then they are going to watch him in action.
‘It pretty much sums up the kind of guy he is. He hasn’t made a fuss over it and he doesn’t really want attention. It’s just a decent thing to do.’
Sterling, who moved to England from Jamaica at the age of five, was brought up on the St Raphael’s estate in Wembley. He went to Copland Community School, which has since been renamed Ark Elvin Academy.
An estimated 92 per cent of pupils at the school come from a minority ethnic background, with 36 per cent on free meals. More than 50 languages are spoken.
City have been struggling to sell all their tickets for the game. The Premier League champions have sold around 25,000 seats for their fourth trip to Wembley this season.
They had to return 2,000 extra tickets, sent in addition to their allocation of more than 30,000, back to the Football Association.
The club say those are the more expensive tickets, with prices going up to £120, and all categories of tickets remain on general sale.
Pep Guardiola’s side have three London games in eight days, with a Champions League date at Tottenham’s new stadium and a trip to Crystal Palace following the semi-final.
Fans have also argued that travelling back to Manchester is the cause of angst after the 5:30pm kick-off, with the last train north from London Euston scheduled for 9:24pm.
City’s clash on Saturday comes as they pursue four trophies this season – they beat Cardiff on Wednesday to return to the top of the Premier League.
