Man Utd Women's star Nikita Parris leaves local kids stunned by turning up for kickaround with U12s team | The Sun

Women’s football legend Nikita Parris has given a group of unsuspecting youngsters a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of playing with the trophy-winning star.

The Manchester United forward who has been capped 65 times for England arrived at her childhood football club in Toxteth for an early morning kickaround, surprising the under 12s team.

As the girls sat down to breakfast, Parris gave them a stirring talk about coming from the area and achieving her dreams of playing the beautiful game professionally – before getting underway with some shooting practice. 

After the session, Mila Williams, aged 7, said she “learnt so much” from Parris and wants to “follow in her footsteps”. 

The heart-warming video comes after research of 1,000 6-16 year olds revealed their heroes, with footballers Beth Mead, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford – and Nikita Parris – featuring in the top 50 list. 

Other idols for youngsters included Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and his sidekick Kevin Hart, Harry Styles and Emma Watson.

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Nikita Parris said: “It was amazing coming back to my old training ground today and seeing so many girls just wanting to give it a go.

“I loved the way the Weetabix Wildcats coaches were keeping the activities fun-based, you could see the girls were all having a really great time.

“It was great hearing all their questions about how to get started in football, and I told them all that as long as they’re enjoying themselves that’s the most important thing.

“It’s been a fantastic summer for women’s football, and it’s great to see brands giving girls the opportunity to get involved in sport. And I’m chuffed to be in the top 50 too.”

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A spokesperson for Weetabix, which commissioned the study, said: "Football is for everyone and that’s been highlighted more than ever this year.

“With the England women’s team recently winning the Euros, there’s no better time for young girls to be encouraged to get into football.

“To see Beth Mead, Alex Scott and Nikita herself in the top 50 list of children’s heroes is inspiring and a sign of the times.

“We hope this is just the beginning of girls getting involved in football and the training session showed just how much they enjoy it and have a passion for the sport.

“Weetabix Wildcats offers girls the chance to take part in non-competitive football.

"Especially in the current circumstances, we want to ensure families still have access to affordable and healthy food and opportunities to keep active with the emphasis being on having fun and making new friends.

“Sport should be part of everyday life, and we’re passionate about giving girls access to football.”

The research also found athletes and sportspeople are the most inspiring type of celebrities for kids (20 per cent), followed by musicians (16 per cent) and actors (11 per cent).

Similarly, 24 per cent think a good hero is brilliant at sport, while 26 per cent believe kindness makes a great role model.

It also emerged 31 per cent feel a celebrity has given them an idea of what they want to do for a living and 27 per cent want the exact same job as their idol.

While 54 per cent said their favourite celebrities inspire them to chase their dreams.

CHILDREN’S TOP 50 HEROES

1.            Cristiano Ronaldo            

2.            Ed Sheeran        

3.            Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson       

4.            David Beckham

5.            Lady Gaga          

6.            Emma Watson  

7.            Ariana Grande  

8.            Billie Eilish

9.            Kevin De Bruyne

10.          Miley Cyrus       

11.          Harry Styles       

12.          Lewis Hamilton        

13.          Zendaya                      

14.          David Attenborough              

15.          Jordan Henderson          

16.          Kevin Hart

17.          Marcus Rashford             

18.          Kylie Jenner      

19.          Raheem Sterling                      

20.          Ant and Dec

21.          David Walliams        

22.          Greta Thunberg        

23.          Phil Foden                  

24.          Prince Harry             

25.          Jojo Siwa                     

26.          Beth Mead                 

27.          Megan Rapinoe       

28.          Pep Guardiola           

29.          Alex Scott                   

30.          Kim Kardashian        

31.          Dove Cameron         

32.          Nikita Parris               

33.          Steve Backshall        

34.          James Charles           

35.          Lil Nas X                      

36.          Tommy Fury              

37.          Addison Rae              

38.          Jesy Nelson               

39.          Millie Bobby Brown                

40.          Dixie D'Amelio  

41.          Jack Grealish             

42.          Jake Paul                     

43.          Logan Paul                 

44.          Rylan Clark                 

45.          Junior Andre             

46.          Leah Williamson

47.          Molly-Mae Hague

48.          Charli D'Amelio

49.          Bukayo Saka      

50.          Big Zuu

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