The Liverpool and England footballer Jordan Henderson may be granted the Freedom of the City of Sunderland.

Born in Herrington in 1990, Jordan Henderson grew up on Wearside and attended Farringdon Community Academy, where he was considered a ‘model pupil’. He joined Sunderland AFC’s academy at the age of eight and in 2008 made his league debut for the club.

Jordan signed for Liverpool in 2011, going on to become the club’s captain. He has earned over 50 England caps and recently celebrated the stunning achievement of winning the Champions League with Liverpool.

He still has close ties with Farringdon Academy, where he is seen as a role model for the pupils. He regularly returns to the school to participate in assemblies, meet pupils and make presentations.

The Freedom is the City is an award given to notable citizens who have made significant contributions to the wellbeing and community spirit of Sunderland.

Sunderland City Council’s cabinet will meet on Tuesday 18th June to discuss granting the Freedom of the City to Jordan Henderson.

The leader of the council, Cllr Graeme Miller, said, “Jordan has to be among this city’s greats when it comes to being an ambassador for Sunderland, for the north east, for football itself, and as a great role model for young people.”

“We have a long tradition of conferring honours on those who, through their achievements, act as excellent role models for Sunderland. Therefore, it’s only right and proper that our city looks to award Jordan this honour.”

In 2016, the Freedom of the City was awarded to legendary Sunderland AFC goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery BEM and to Hays Travel founder John Hayes.

In 2017, the honour was bestowed on staff members at Nissan and in 2014 Nissan’s chief performance officer Trevor Mann received the Freedom.

In 2013, former Sunderland AFC player Niall Quinn was granted the Freedom of the City, as was Joël Batteux, the mayor of Sunderland’s French twin town St Nazaire.

Other recipients of the Freedom of the City of Sunderland include TV reporter Kate Adie, 4 Regiment Royal Artillery, 3 Rifles and the crew of HMS Ocean, which was Sunderland’s adopted warship and the largest ship in the Royal Navy for many years.

(The featured image – showing Jordan Henderson playing for Liverpool against Arsenal – is courtesy of joshjdss at Flickr Creative Commons.)


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