NewsAlisson Becker surprises LFC Foundation's Premier League Community Captain

LFC Foundation’s Mark Henderson is one of more than 100 people across England and Wales being celebrated through the More Than A Game campaign for their work in Premier League-funded community programmes.

Mark was chosen as LFC’s Premier League Community Captain due to his commitment to supporting people’s health across the Liverpool City Region, and it was Reds goalkeeper Alisson who broke the news to him during one of his sessions at Anfield last month.

Alisson’s unexpected arrival delighted both Mark and more than 100 participants from across a range of LFC Foundation’s Red Neighbours sessions. He joined Mark as a bingo caller for the afternoon and presented prizes to the winners, before revealing the real reason for his visit.

The Brazilian was proud to announce Mark as this season’s LFC Community Captain and invited him to this weekend’s Community Day match against Wolverhampton Wanderers to officially receive his award.

Prior to Sunday’s game, Mark was also welcomed to the AXA Training Centre to meet the rest of the squad and head coach Arne Slot.

Mark’s relationship with the club began at the age of four when he attended his first match at Anfield and celebrated the Reds beating Manchester City 5-0 in the third round of the League Cup. A proud season ticket holder since 2002 with a seat in the Kop, he has also been to five Champions League finals and watched the club lift the trophy twice.

While Mark’s introduction as a fan started at a young age, his journey at LFC Foundation started four years ago when he joined the health and wellbeing department as a mental health coordinator.

During his time working in that team, Mark showcased his passion for helping young people build resilience and coping strategies. He was particularly skilled at equipping them with skills to be able to not only function, but achieve in society.

Mark has since been working within LFC Foundation’s community engagement department as a senior coordinator within the Red Neighbours team. He was brought in to that team to utilise the skills he had built up during his time as a mental health coordinator to address the local challenges of the community through the Red Neighbours Community Programme that is funded by the Premier League and Professional Footballers’ Association.

The programme aims to tackle inequalities to create community cohesion by covering themes such as equality, diversity and inclusion, mental health and wellbeing, physical health and wellbeing, while also providing education and training opportunities, supporting employability, and sustainability.

Forbes Duff, LFC Foundation’s head of community engagement, said: “Mark is an invaluable member of the community engagement team. When working in complex communities he's resilient and solution-focused.

“He’s passionate about creating positive changes, even for those in their darkest hours of need and is always leading with empathy.

“His commitment to supporting those has been recognised globally as Mark has spoken at conferences about his and LFC Foundation’s impact in supporting people.

“His passion permeates into the team; he's the first to share genuine praise and appreciation for colleagues and always there to lend a hand in any situation. With that in mind, it is with great pride that I am able to congratulate Mark on being honoured as this season’s Community Captain.”

Mark said: “I am proud to be named as this season’s Community Captain. As a lifelong Liverpool fan, it is a dream come true to be recognised by the club.

“As a senior coordinator in the Red Neighbours team, I am honoured to wear the badge on my chest and to help create a lasting positive impact for people within our communities.”

Mark’s story is just one example of the incredible work that LFC Foundation is doing across the Liverpool City Region and beyond, in particular across the foundation’s health programmes such as these.

You can help support LFC Foundation develop and grow its health programmes even further by purchasing a ticket for this year’s legends fixture at Anfield in March. All funds raised from the legends clash with Chelsea FC Legends will help support health programmes, which provide physical and mental wellbeing programmes for people of all ages.

Eight previous legends matches at Anfield have raised more than £7.5 million and have helped LFC Foundation increase the number of people it supported to 127,000 last season.

Funds from the next legends match will help play a key role in LFC Foundation’s new strategy, which aims to double fundraising efforts to reach the ambition of helping 500,000 people a season by 2030.