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Meet the new England mascot: a Russian Scot who supports Ukraine
accompany the team on to the pitch if they reach the World Cup final is over — and the winner is a six-year-old half-Russian Scot who supports Ukraine.
Connor Gray, from Glasgow, was one of 50,000 British youngsters to enter the competition sponsored by the fast-food chain McDonald’s.
The company is paying for more than 1,400 child escorts to travel to the competition with a parent and parade with the teams before every match.
The most prized tickets were for the final, which will be on July 9. If England makes it through, each player will be accompanied through the tunnel on to the pitch by a small companion.
Connor is the only Briton among 22 youngsters from around the world who will accompany the players into the Olympic Stadium for the final on July 9. But Connor, who lives with his Scottish father and Russian mother, is planning to cheer on Ukraine because it is his grandmother’s home country.
He said: “I’m so excited, I can’t wait. I’ve woken up early every morning since I won thinking about it. I want Ukraine to win but I think Brazil will do it. I don’t want England in the final. I don’t want them to win.”
Connor, who supports his local team, Clyde, won the honour in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. The entrants had to indicate whether they wanted to be an England escort or if they did not mind which team they escorted. Connor chose the latter option.
Just 46 British winners were picked out of 14,000 from 51 countries around the world. Eleven youngsters will accompany England for each of their three qualifying matches against Paraguay, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago.
He entered the competition four months ago during a shopping trip with his father Andrew, a policeman, and sister Carmina, 4. Andrew, who is an officer in the Central Scotland Police, said: “We were out shopping in the east end of Glasgow when we went into McDonald’s. Carmina had a Happy Meal but she was taking such a long time to eat it that I got bored and started reading the box. I asked Connor what he thought about being a mascot for the World Cup and he just said, ‘Yeah, great, Dad’.
“That was about four months ago when I entered him and we thought nothing more of it.” Three weeks ago, a letter announcing the news arrived at the family home.
Andrew met Connor’s mum, Indira, in Moscow when he went to watch Scotland play Russia in a Euro 96 qualifier in 1995. She now works in the modern languages department at Glasgow University and the family live in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow.
Despite his Russian and Scottish roots, Connor, who speaks Russian fluently, chose to support Ukraine because he visits his grandmother there and is fond of the country.
Connor says that his favourite players are Andriy Shevchenko, of Ukraine, and Ronaldinho, of Brazil. His father said: “He could name half a dozen Brazilians in their team but he’d struggle to name all the English team.”
A spokeswoman for McDonald’s said: “Connor is a very lucky boy — he will be the envy of any football supporter, however old they are.”
http://www.timesonli...2199127,00.html
accompany the team on to the pitch if they reach the World Cup final is over — and the winner is a six-year-old half-Russian Scot who supports Ukraine.
Connor Gray, from Glasgow, was one of 50,000 British youngsters to enter the competition sponsored by the fast-food chain McDonald’s.
The company is paying for more than 1,400 child escorts to travel to the competition with a parent and parade with the teams before every match.
The most prized tickets were for the final, which will be on July 9. If England makes it through, each player will be accompanied through the tunnel on to the pitch by a small companion.
Connor is the only Briton among 22 youngsters from around the world who will accompany the players into the Olympic Stadium for the final on July 9. But Connor, who lives with his Scottish father and Russian mother, is planning to cheer on Ukraine because it is his grandmother’s home country.
He said: “I’m so excited, I can’t wait. I’ve woken up early every morning since I won thinking about it. I want Ukraine to win but I think Brazil will do it. I don’t want England in the final. I don’t want them to win.”
Connor, who supports his local team, Clyde, won the honour in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. The entrants had to indicate whether they wanted to be an England escort or if they did not mind which team they escorted. Connor chose the latter option.
Just 46 British winners were picked out of 14,000 from 51 countries around the world. Eleven youngsters will accompany England for each of their three qualifying matches against Paraguay, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago.
He entered the competition four months ago during a shopping trip with his father Andrew, a policeman, and sister Carmina, 4. Andrew, who is an officer in the Central Scotland Police, said: “We were out shopping in the east end of Glasgow when we went into McDonald’s. Carmina had a Happy Meal but she was taking such a long time to eat it that I got bored and started reading the box. I asked Connor what he thought about being a mascot for the World Cup and he just said, ‘Yeah, great, Dad’.
“That was about four months ago when I entered him and we thought nothing more of it.” Three weeks ago, a letter announcing the news arrived at the family home.
Andrew met Connor’s mum, Indira, in Moscow when he went to watch Scotland play Russia in a Euro 96 qualifier in 1995. She now works in the modern languages department at Glasgow University and the family live in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow.
Despite his Russian and Scottish roots, Connor, who speaks Russian fluently, chose to support Ukraine because he visits his grandmother there and is fond of the country.
Connor says that his favourite players are Andriy Shevchenko, of Ukraine, and Ronaldinho, of Brazil. His father said: “He could name half a dozen Brazilians in their team but he’d struggle to name all the English team.”
A spokeswoman for McDonald’s said: “Connor is a very lucky boy — he will be the envy of any football supporter, however old they are.”
http://www.timesonli...2199127,00.html
Being an individual who couldn't give a fuck about football bar the World Cup and when I'm slightly pissed, there's so much I could say about this. Irony, pisstake, outrage. But my witty caption for this piece?
I read this piece in another paper, which ran it with a story... of a Ukranian mascot who supports England.
Some people...
Ta for Dr Lecter for this one!
MultiQuote
