ENGLAND star Raheem Sterling is to pay to put 14 poor students through university.

The Chelsea winger is offering scholarships to youngsters of black, African and Caribbean heritage to tackle the equality gap.

It comes after a study said fewer than five per cent of Brits starting degrees at the UK’s top 24 universities were black.

Over the next three years, Sterling will fund seven students at The University of Manchester and King’s College London, both in the select Russell Group.

The offer is open to young people in Greater Manchester and London.

Dad-of-four Sterling, 28, said: “I hope this initiative will be a real game changer.”

University of Manchester’s president, Prof Dame Nancy Rothwell, said the cash would help talented black students “realise their potential”.

President and principal of King’s College London, Prof Shitij Kapur, said the initiative would help “under-represented students . . . become the change-makers of the future”.

Clive Ellington, Chair of Trustees at the Raheem Sterling Foundation, added: “We believe that access to better education and employment opportunities should be made fair to all young people regardless of financial circumstances and background.

“The work we do is in pursuit of improving their opportunities, future careers and quality of life and we won’t rest until we succeed in Raheem’s vision of achieving this.

“Partnering with two of the UK’s most outstanding universities, whose strive for change mirrors that of ours, is a real highlight in our journey to date, and we couldn’t be happier to announce our commitment to them and the students over the next three years.’’

Funding is via the Raheem Sterling Foundation.

Each university will offer two this year.

SOURCE: thesun.co.uk