Being Red: Unforgettable memories for young brothers
Two huge Liverpool fans from Anfield have enjoyed a series of unforgettable experiences this season thanks to the club's Red Neighbours programme.
Teenage brothers Louie and Ghaith Aburasso, who attend Alsop High School in L4, had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to greet the entire Reds matchday squad as they arrived at Anfield back in August.
Along with seven other classmates, the boys were attending the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion as part of Red Neighbours’ free ticket initiative when they were escorted to the players’ entrance for the surprise meet and greet.
“We were already excited for the game, but when we were told that we were going to meet the players we couldn’t believe it,” said Louie.
“We waited on the red carpet as the coaches arrived – first the Brighton players, who we respectfully applauded. And then came the LFC squad.
“We were all clapping and reaching out to high-five our favourite players. I managed to high-five Firmino, Shaqiri and Milner and wish them luck for the game. It was an amazing day that I’ll never forget.”
Louie (16) and Ghaith (15) came face to face with their heroes for a second time in September, when they attended a Red Neighbours careers event at Anfield.
Five LFC players – Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Matip, Simon Mignolet, Alberto Moreno and Divock Origi – were special guests at the networking session, answering the pupils’ questions and offering advice and encouragement for the future.
The brothers were also selected to collect their school’s next batch of free tickets from Red Neighbours at Anfield in October, which were personally delivered by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren and Dominic Solanke.
“We have had so many wonderful experiences thanks to Red Neighbours,” said Ghaith. “To meet the players just once is something most people can only dream of, but to have had the chance three times now – it’s just unbelievable.
“On top of that, we’ve been given the tickets to attend games at Anfield, which is unreal and isn’t something we’d usually have the opportunity to do. We are so grateful to Red Neighbours for everything they do for us and our school.”
The free tickets for schools scheme, which gave more than 1,000 pupils the opportunity to attend matches at Anfield last season, provides local schools with 55 tickets for every Premier League home fixture.
Twenty-one primary schools and four high schools in the L4, L5 and L6 postcodes will benefit from the initiative throughout the 2018-19 campaign as part of Red Neighbours’ focus on creating memorable experiences for young people.