Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher knows what it means for someone to have your back, but that realisation came long before his 737 never-say-die appearances for the Reds.
It was growing up in Liverpool that the Sky Sports presenter first saw the value of a helping hand and now he is leading a star-studded campaign to give youngsters the support they need through the charity, Football for Change.
As a lad, the Bootle born, former defender, was often to be found at the Brunswick Youth and Community Centre, known locally as the Brunny, which helped give him the platform from which he launched his stellar career.
'It was this community,' the 2005 Champions League winner recently told his local paper. 'If you weren't in school or you weren't at home, you were at the Brunny, That's what it was like, not just for me, but for almost every kid around there.'
Carragher was brought to the Brunny by his dad when he was just seven years old. The 'football gym' has not changed in almost four decades since that day when 'Carra''s father asked the lads if he could join in a kick-a-bout.
Now Carragher, who has 38 England caps, is using his position as one of the highest profile football pundits in the country, and his experience, to raise huge amounts of cash to help disadvantaged young people find work and improve their education.
Carragher has raided his contacts book and pulled together an all-star line-up to raise money for projects up and down the country through an initiative called Football for Change, which MailOnline is supporting.
The former Red, turned presenter, joined forces with current players Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Everton's Conor Coady and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, to launch the campaign in 2021, when the Covid pandemic was isolating young people in Liverpool and in cities across the UK.
Football For Change has already raised £350,000 through a celebrity lunch and then a dinner, held at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, last November. But next week a black-tie gala at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester will aim to raise the bar even higher and rake in another £350,000 for the cause.
Frenemy number one, Sky Sports colleague and former Manchester United and England full back, Gary Neville, is on board, while Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham is a supporter, along with Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard and England's Euro 2022 winners, Beth Mead and Toni Duggan, plus Spurs' Lucas Moura and MOTD pundits Alan Shearer, Peter Crouch and Gary Lineker.
Diehard Manchester City fan, Noel Gallagher will be the headline act at the swanky bash with his High Flying Birds and Melanie C and Emeli Sande are also providing entertainment with individual sets. The whole show will be compered by Vernon Kay.
'Money-can't-buy lots' have been donated for a live auction by David Beckham, Formula 1, Robbie Williams, Calvin Harris and BT Sport.
'It's going to be a great night,' said Carragher, whose efforts are bolstered by business leaders, including Ardonagh Retail CEO Ian Donaldson, and public relations executive, Dan Hughes
'It's a fantastic initiative, that is going to help, hopefully, working class kids get into employment in lots of different ways. There are lots of football players behind it up and down the country and I am proud to be a part of it,' added Carragher, 44, who has been committed to charitable work in and around Liverpool, since hanging up his boots, but this has the potential to be even bigger.
Carragher is realistic about the size of the challenge and the fact there are deep-rooted problems, which he and the football community will struggle to solve. Even so, Football For Change is determined to help those it can.
'We are giving it a good go,' Carragher told Sportsmail. 'There is a lot of enthusiasm and we are just trying to do the right thing.
'Most players come from working class backgrounds…. The players are fortunate, I was fortunate, the revenues that are coming in, I am not decrying that, they deserve it, but I think it is important that people in our position give something back to help people from their own communities.
'We have had a lot of players wanting to get involved, which is healthy.'
While the initiative began in Liverpool, it aims to spread out across the country, with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, one of many fans. The focus is on school leavers who are not in employment, education or training (known as NEET by government bean counters) in neighbourhoods affected by low educational attainment and high levels of youth unemployment.
Across the country, 711,000 young people aged 16 to 24 currently find themselves in that position with well-founded fears that the cost-of-living crisis and an economic downturn is about to make life even harder.
Among 16-17-year-olds, the most recent figure for so-called NEETs nationwide is 64,720, of whom 1,950 live in the Liverpool City Region. Two hundred of those youngsters have been identified in Sefton, the area where Carragher grew up.
Among the initial activities Football for Change is funding are a life-changing project for 40 young people, who travelled to the US for a sport and education programme, a training scheme for homeless youngsters, and a new education hub for young people in Bootle.
'You can feel the world is against you and other people are luckier and more fortunate,' said co-organiser and Liverpool right-back, Alexander-Arnold, who was born and raised in the West Derby district of Liverpool, less than five miles from Carragher's own upbringing.
Liverpool has the second highest proportion of young people out of education and employment of any city in the country, narrowly behind Birmingham, which currently claims the dubious honour.
However, problems are deep rooted. Disadvantaged children – identified as those eligible for free school meals or in care – routinely achieve lower grades at GCSE and often grow up with more limited opportunities in life, creating cycles of poverty in some areas.
'You see so much deprivation within the city, whether it be through homes, shelter, education,' added Alexander Arnold, 23, who already has 234 appearances for Liverpool under his belt and 17 for England, after being spotted by the Anfield club aged six.
'I always felt growing up that if I had an opportunity to help others and give to others as much as I can then that would be amazing and that is the platform I have got now and it is important for me to use that in the right way.'
The wealth of Premier League football clubs and players came into sharp focus last month when the top-tier spent a combined total of almost £2 billion in transfer fees, as the rest of the country braces for harsh economic conditions.
However, Carragher and co recognise the opportunity football has given them to make a difference and they are determined to seize it.
'Its massive that we can use our platform,' said Coady, 29, who grew up in St Helens as a Liverpool fan, but is now playing for Everton on loan from Wolves. 'It's massive for disadvantaged kids, levelling the playing field. It's huge that everybody gets an opportunity in life.'
The Football for Change Gala Dinner will take place at the Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday September 22.