ENGLAND stars have pledged to donate their Euro bonuses to NHS charities if they win the final against Italy on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate’s men, who secured their place in the historic match after beating Denmark 2-1 on Wednesday, already plan to distribute their total of £9.5million to worthwhile causes.
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England have already created a number of heroes on their path to the final as the nation has once again become captivated by Southgate’s band of brothers.
Their victory on Wednesday secured their first major final since 1966 and was widely celebrated on the streets as people revelled in the euphoria.
And, as heads turn towards Sunday’s game, it is now reported that England players will support some of the nations other heroes if football does come home.
Currently, it is estimated that the Football Association would bag around £24 million if England secured a historic victory on Sunday.
Around 40 per cent of that sum goes to the 26 players in the squad and reports suggest that they have already held talks about a donation that would see the NHS receive a massive windfall.
Last May, the players confirmed that they would donate match fees to charity.
It read: “Following positive discussions with the FA, the England senior men’s squad are pleased to confirm that a significant donation from their international match fees will be made to NHS Charities Together via the #PlayersTogether initiative.
“This contribution will be taken from a fund already set aside to support a variety of worthy causes using all match fees collated since September 2018.”
It comes as a remarkable gesture by players who had already made huge donations to the NHS at the height of the pandemic last year.
In April 2020, Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Manchester United’s Harry Maguire were two of the twenty Premier League captains that created a Players Together fund to give £4million to the NHS.
They pledged “to make a real difference in distributing funds quickly to where it is needed most in this Covid-19 crisis” – vowing to hand over cash to NHS staff, volunteers and coronavirus patients.
They were praised by ex England starts stars such as Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand who noted how they “proud” they were of the current crop of Three Lions talent.
Those same players are now on course for their first trophy in 55 years with the chance to make history both on and off the pitch.
