Raheem Sterling to pay for C/Palace' teenage player's funeral

Raheem Sterling paid tribute to Damary Dawkins after scoring for England last month - Getty/BBCSport

Raheem Sterling will pay for the funeral of Crystal Palace youth player Damary Dawkins, who died in March aged 13.


Manchester City winger Sterling supported a campaign to find a suitable stem cell donor for Damary, who had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

"Damary was a special young man who touched a lot of lives, including my own," Sterling said.

The England international, 24, plans to attend the funeral on Friday.

Damary Dawkins - CroydonAdvertiser

He described Damary as "an example to us all" who was "positive until the end".

The teenager's family had set up a GoFundMe page to raise £15,000 to give Damary the "best send off and celebration of life".

Damary's father, Tony, said Sterling's shirt tribute was "very, very touching".