Boss launches search for next star
Brendan Rodgers was guest of honour as Rainhill High School officially unveiled a new third-generation pitch that could help find the next star of the future.
The 3G pitch is funded by the Premier League and will provide fantastic much-needed facilities for youngsters to learn their trade in the game.
The Premier League Community Facilities Fund, which is funded by the Premier League and delivered by the Football Foundation, is investing £18million over three years to develop new or refurbished sports facilities for local people across the country.
[SLIDESHOW]
The 3G pitch is funded by the Premier League and will provide fantastic much-needed facilities for youngsters to learn their trade in the game.
The Premier League Community Facilities Fund, which is funded by the Premier League and delivered by the Football Foundation, is investing £18million over three years to develop new or refurbished sports facilities for local people across the country.
Liverpool and Rainhill High School have worked in partnership since 2009 and the school provides GCSE education to the club's Academy players from U12 to U16, BTEC qualifications for the U18s and teaching life skills to the U21s.
Past and present students Raheem Sterling, Jordon Ibe, Jordan Rossiter and Lloyd Jones were on hand to test out the pitch, which will give the local community state-of-the-art facilities and enable the Liverpool FC Foundation to run numerous programmes from the side, benefiting hundreds of youngsters.
For Liverpool manager Rodgers, it was a prime opportunity for him to assess the new facility.
He said: "It's great to see first-hand the difference that this Premier League funded pitch will make to the students here and the community."
Liverpool Academy director Frank McParland said: "We've built a really strong relationship with Rainhill over the last few years. They play a crucial role in helping to educate our young players off the pitch. They will now play another crucial role within the local community.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore added: "Liverpool has never had far to look for inspiration with local talent like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
"As Premier League clubs continue to play an active role as hubs of their communities, this pitch will provide more people with an opportunity to enjoy the game and emulate their heroes."
Rainhill High School head teacher John Pout concluded: "We are delighted to have Brendan and the players here. We've developed a really strong partnership with the club, providing education to young players.
"I'm thrilled that we can now say we will also be helping the club carry out vital community work."
For a full report on the visit to Rainhill make sure you don't miss next week's edition of #LFCWORLD on LFC TV.