Leeds United star surprises trio with 'dream come true' VIP treatment after private charity support

Leeds United, both through its Foundation and club staff, get involved with a number of charities and community organisations but senior player Ilia Gruev decided off his own back to join forces with social care organisation Community Integrated Care, a charity that supports people across the UK in mental health recovery and people with learning disabilities and austism. And having been inspired by the charity's mission to help people live their 'best life possible' he planned a dream experience for three Whites supporters involved with the charity.

Paul Harrison, Mark Whittaker and Lee Hainsworth are all supported by the charity to live independently in the community and are all avid Leeds supporters. Accepting an invite to the stadium they initially believed it was a sightseeing experience, before club officials took them on a behind-the-scenes tour and introduced them to Gruev in the first team changing room.

Gruev gifted all three with signed shirts and memorabilia, talked to them about life as a Leeds player and answered their questions about the club, before leading them down the tunnel onto pitchside where he revealed they would be VIP guests for the FA Cup game against Millwall.

Lifelong Leeds fan Paul said: "This is my best day ever, I cannot believe it. Thank you Ilia." The trio were joined on matchday by Jenny Robinson and Declan Jenkinson, who also access Community Integrated Care services, and Gruev met them all after the game to introduce the group to his team-mates.

"It was my pleasure to meet Lee, Paul and Mark, and their support teams at Community Integrated Care," said the Bulgarian international. "It was brilliant to see how much Leeds United means to them – they inspired me, as much as I hope to have inspired them. It has been great to support Community Integrated Care. I know that the charity does a lot of important work in the local community. It is so important to give back to the community, so I am proud to have supported a great cause.”

John Hughes, director of partnerships and communities at Community Integrated Care said Gruev had made the trio's dreams come true with his kindness.

“We were blown away by the efforts that Ilia made to enable the people we support to live their greatest dreams," he said. "He was generous with his time, deeply interested in connecting with the people we support, and had real respect for the work of Community Integrated Care. Paul, Mark, Lee, Jenny and Declan will never forget this experience. Our thanks go to Ilia and everyone at Leeds United who facilitated their dreams coming true.”