England star Raheem Sterling is to pay for the funeral of former Crystal Palace youth player Damary Dawkins who he says was an "example to us all". Dawkins died aged 13 of leukaemia in March -- Sterling had supported a campaign to find a suitable stem cell donor for him.

According to an appeal page, Dawkins did receive a stem cell match a few days before Christmas but he relapsed in February. His family had set up a GoFundMe page to raise £15,000 ($19,400) to give Dawkins the "best send off and celebration of life" -- but Sterling has assumed all the costs himself.