Children cruelly affected by cancer were left speechless and beaming at Leeds United on Tuesday as Raphinha, Kalvin Phillips and Joe Gelhardt surprised them at Elland Road. Yorkshire Cancer Research, the club’s official charity partner, was invited by the Whites to bring in a group of children and their families to the stadium for a tour, lunch and a rare chance to meet their idols.
After taking in the sights and sounds of the ground, they posed for pictures in the southwest corner where the United stars emerged from behind to surprise them and join them for photos. Gelhardt spoke ahead of meeting the young fans and their parents.
“It’s important for us to be involved and hopefully we can put a smile on their face,” he said. “They’ve been through some hard times, so to put a smile on their face and hopefully make their day better, or even their week or month, that’s what we’ll do and I’m happy to be involved.”
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The teenager spoke with immense maturity about his role as a United footballer in the city and why these functions were so important for providing some respite and joy in dark times for some. He said: “Somewhere along the line someone you know has probably had it or an experience with it, so it’s something I’m aware of.
“My best mate’s nan, she passed from it, so it’s something I’m aware of and something I’m happy to help with.” He added: “I don’t see myself as a role model because I just see myself as me, but when you see kids smiling when they see you it makes you feel happy you’re putting a smile on their face so I’ll try and continue to do that.”
Matt Slater was one of the fathers at Elland Road on Tuesday. He was with his two sons, George, five, and Harry, eight.
“George was diagnosed with leukaemia in September 2020 so it’s been a rough 18 months or so,” he said. “Treatment’s going well and it’s just fantastic we can have days out like this and really enjoy it like any other child would do.”
Matt has been a season-ticket holder at Leeds for nearly 30 years and joked he was even more excited than his boys were about meeting his heroes. While Harry is in good health, his dad admits it has been a tough time for his eldest too, which made Tuesday’s event just as important for him.
“He misses out on a lot of things,” he said. “With Covid and everything else, we have to be mindful of that, so it does have an impact on him. It’s great he could come down and see all of this as well.”
Would he be banking dad points with the boys though, after pictures with their favourite player Raphinha no less? He said: “I can’t take any of the credit for it.
“It’s fantastic Leeds support these charities and the charities are able to do things like this. Kids like George, and all the other boys and girls who are here, it’s great they get to experience these things and they bring their parents along too.”
Gelhardt has exploded onto the scene with the first team this season and knows all too well just what a strong connection with the fan base can mean for the players on the pitch. He said: “When you stop outside the stadium after a game or at the training ground and they’re smiling, made up to see you, it’s such a nice feeling.
“It makes you more connected to the fans when you see how happy they are. If you’ve got a good connection with them off the field then they’re going to help you on the field, so to keep them happy is so important because as you’ve seen at Elland Road on a Saturday, they can be the 12th man.
“I admire the fans so much and how much they support us through thick and thin. As you’ve seen, we’ve been through bad moments in this season and they’re still there at the end of the games singing. It shows how much they appreciate us and we appreciate them so much as well.”
