‘Rio Ferdinand has earned praise, much of it emanating from the manager's office at Manchester United, for his dedication during his suspension that ended yesterday, even attending one community or charity project a week.
‘Ferdinand is one of the more philanthropic footballers around, brilliant with children, whether chatting, signing autographs or encouraging them to make something of their lives.
‘Ferdinand does more charity work than most but he could, and should, do more. In the wake of that infamous missed drugs test, it would have been interesting to gauge public reaction if Ferdinand had raced away from the Carrington training ground to visit an inner-city school, rather than Harvey Nicks as happened. A touch more sympathy might have flowed his way.
‘During his eight months out, Ferdinand did find time to attend a Prince's Trust event in February, and his involvement is highly valued. "Rio is a very good ambassador for us because he relates very well to young people," said a Prince's Trust spokesperson yesterday. Other ambassadors include Frank Lampard, David Bellion, Emile Heskey, James Beattie and Dion Dublin.
‘These are football's good guys but even they would probably admit they could do more (and, to be fair, some do but eschew the publicity). Others in football should follow the example of Ferdinand, who is also involved in a Premier League Reading Stars scheme, fostering interest in local libraries. One player at each club nominates a book, in Ferdinand's case Roald Dahl's BFG, and encourages youngsters to read it and other books.’