Echo mascot winner delighted to run out with Jermain Defoe at Sunderland vs Burton Albion

The Echo teamed up with Sunderland AFC to give away a mascot place at their clash with Burton Albion.

Dad Neil Atkinson, 46, put forward his football mad daughter Eliza, 10, for the place – and she ended up being partnered with Black Cat favourite Jermain Defoe.

Dad-of-four Neil, from Westoe, South Shields, said: “I picked her up from school and told her she’d won and she was absolutely buzzing.

"On the day she’d put down Defoe as her preferred player, but because he’s been on the subs bench for a few games she didn’t expect to be partnered with him.

"Due to Covid the mascots didn’t get to go in the dressing room, but she got to speak to him briefly in the tunnel and hi-five the players. She said Defoe asked her name, and said he liked it.”

Eliza, who attends Westoe Crown School, already plays for Hebburn Town and attends a Foundation of Light player development programme, and Neil says she’s thinking about maybe pursuing it professionally when she’s older.

He said: “I was on the other side of the stadium, but I have a video of when she came out of the tunnel and her face was priceless. It was a great experience for her to be on the pitch. She’d love to go back and have a kick about with the players and have her pictures signed.”

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