Raheem Sterling buys 550 FA Cup semi-final tickets for former school

Raheem Sterling has paid for 550 tickets for pupils at his former school to attend Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final clash between Manchester City and Brighton.

A handful of students from the Ark Elvin Academy in London are due to travel to Manchester later on Thursday to meet the England winger at City’s training complex.

Sterling, 24, was raised on St Raphael’s estate in Neasden, close to Wembley, after moving to England from Jamaica at the age of five. He attended the Copland Community School, which was renamed the Ark Elvin Academy in 2014.

Sterling has offered to pay both for the tickets and transport for pupils to get to and from Saturday’s match.

The school is known for having a high proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Sterling has been known to make significant charitable donations in the past. In 2017 he made a “substantial” undisclosed donation to the fund set up in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

With Saturday’s match City’s fourth trip to Wembley this season following the Community Shield, Carabao Cup final and their away game against Tottenham, the club are reportedly struggling to sell their full allocation of tickets.