England football star and child food poverty activist Marcus Rashford has announced a publishing partnership with Macmillan Children’s Books, aiming to promote reading and literacy to children across the UK, with a particular focus on youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds.

Through the partnership, Rashford will co-author several books aimed at different age groups, as well as launching a book club, and will work to make reading materials accessible to all despite their household income. The Manchester United forward commented 'We know there are approximately 400,000 children across the UK today who have never owned a book, children who are in vulnerable environments. That has to change. Let our children read that they are not alone and enable them to dream... Allow them to relate to the characters by making sure people of all race, religion and gender are depicted correctly and representative of modern society. The team at Pan Macmillan very much share my vision and ambition, and I am really excited to be on this journey with them'.