Key Points
- Carrie Brown was reporting on the 2022 FIFA World Cup and made a video call to her parents, who live in a care home.
- The reporter said her parents, who have dementia, did not believe she was really in Qatar.
- England players Raheem Sterling and Kieran Trippier joined the call, surprising care home staff and residents.
A sports reporter has shared the story of a kind gesture from two England players at the 2022 FIFA World Cup that she says will stay with her "longer than any goal" from the tournament.
Carrie Brown, a beIN Sports correspondent, recalled the moment Raheem Sterling and Kieran Trippier took the time to join a video call and speak with her parents, who are both living in a care home with dementia.
Following the team's elimination after losing 2-1 to France on Saturday, Ms Brown was asked to recount any significant anecdotes from the team's time at the tournament.
The reporter said after missing her usual video calls with her parents for the first few days covering the World Cup, but had managed to connect with her mother following England's win against Iran at the beginning of the tournament.
"My mum at the moment with dementia doesn't believe I'm in Qatar and thinks I'm making it up, and that I should go and visit her, so the nurses said 'Carrie, you're going to have to try and convince her, can you show her anything to do with Qatar?'", she said.
"So I showed her the pitch, and the England dugout and she still wasn't convinced, and so I took her into the flash area where we interview them and I showed her the sign for Qatar, and I just looked over my shoulder and some of the players were down in the tunnel."
As she was showing her mother around the area, Ms Brown said forward Raheem Sterling approached her.
"Raheem Sterling came to look in my screen to see who it was, and waved, and when he realised it was my mum and dad in a care home he got Kieran Trippier over and they waved and they engaged," she said
"And my dad doesn't have words and my mum didn't know what to think, but you know who it meant the world to? The nurses and the doctors that have got so many people through COVID.
"They'll never forget the day that Raheem and Kieran spent some time with their care home and that will stay with me longer than any goal in this tournament."
