Gibbs-White Surprise For Young England Fans

Silverware at last for England men’s U21 team – a 39 year wait, absolutely worth the wait. No goals conceded, but many scored – dreams come true for both players and fans. Not only has the U21 EURO win put English youth football back on the map for producing some excellent young talents, but also put even more spotlight on the individuals that won the trophy just last weekend – in particular, Morgan Gibbs-White.

This wouldn’t be the first time Gibbs-White sees silverware with an England youth setup – six years ago, alongside his now club gaffer, Steve Cooper, Gibbs-White & England lifted the U17 World Cup in India, after an excellent showing, beating Spain in the final – in similar fashion to the U21 EURO’s victory. Lots of bright prospects in this latest winning side, but Morgan Gibbs-White was not just trending for such a win, but how he shocked young England fans after returning from the tournament.

“My son said ‘Gibbs-White’s’ here – I thought he was joking! He’s a superstar.”

Following the victory, three boys local to Nottingham decided to produce some signage, congratulating Morgan Gibbs-White on the England win over the weekend, knowing he was local to the area, but unsuspecting that he’d actually see such a sign.

On 3pm, Sunday the 9th July 2023, a fairly standard day turned into one that would be of national attention – a normal family from East Bridgford stunned as one of England’s brightest prospects arrives at their home, to not only acknowledge the signage, pictured above, but also to thank the family for their kindness. Andy Allam, father of the children, said that his son Oscar, 7, mentioned to him that Gibbs-White was outside their home – he didn’t believe them, and to his amazement, he was there.

Upon arrival, the children Oscar, Oliver & Noah, spoke to Morgan Gibbs-White who thanked them heavily for their kindness with the signage & messages portrayed, before talking more about the game, and praising his teammate, and U21 EURO’s hero, James Trafford, for his excellent performances during the tournament.

After the lengthy chat, Gibbs-White told the children to wait at the house for just a few minutes as he headed home to pick something up – the kids completely unaware of what to expect would come next. To their shock, the young English midfielder then pulls back up to the house, holding his match-worn U21 EURO winning England shirt, which he gifted to the three children as a thanks for their efforts in congratulating him. Amazing! “A true gent, a superstar! An asset to Nottingham Forest, both on & off the pitch!”

Following on from the awe-inspiring event, we spoke to the children’s father, Andy, a lifelong Manchester United fan who does have Nottingham Forest roots, with his father being a fan of the Nottingham Club before Brian Clough joined the Reds!

After this, I asked him more about his thoughts on Morgan Gibbs-White as both a person off the pitch, and superstar on the pitch: “Absolutely amazing person first and foremost, to give my children his shirt from a tournament England have won was amazing, he made so much time for the boys and me, and as a footballer absolute class, huge asset to Forest and England – I don’t think it will be too long before Southgate calls him up.”

Andy’s high praise was echoed by thousands of Nottingham Forest fans, as since the event, posts about this went viral, with the story even featuring on BBC East Midlands Today, and Central News! “A prime example of what a footballer should be, remembering their roots and who makes dreams possible.”

That subtitle was my take on this story, in short. Often, negative stories of footballers not “setting an example” to their fans, in particular the youngest fans, is front & centre of sports social media, stories like this are not seen often enough, and I can only hope it sets more of a precedent for other footballers.

Gibbs-White is not only admired by many young fans in the Nottingham Forest fanbase, but as the above shows, a fanbase nationwide – the reach he has is huge, and to use his time & platform he has created to commit such a positive act, and create such memorable moments for the three young England fans & their family is just so incredible. Without the fans, the dreams of footballers would not be possible, and not only has/does Morgan Gibbs-White understand this, but he cherishes it – he cherishes those that support him, through both loss and through victory.

Not only a superstar for Nottingham Forest on the pitch, but a fantastic ambassador off of it also – values that Steve Cooper instils in his squad, and embraces – no doubt he will be proud of Morgan, alongside hundreds of thousands of Forest & England fans nation and worldwide.

I hope this story has put a smile on your face as much as it has mine – such an amazing story, and even better it was in Nottingham, and by a
Nottingham Forest player!

*Article provided by Jamie Martin (Head Nottingham Forest Correspondent).

*Main image @NFFC Morgan Gibbs-White surprises fans Oscar, Oliver and Noah.

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