Leeds United delivered some festive cheer to Leeds Children’s Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, with members of the first team making our annual trip to the local hospital, to visit as many young children currently receiving treatment as possible.

The players, which included captain Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Karl Darlow, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Glen Kamara, Jaidon Anthony, Junior Firpo and Ilia Gruev headed to the city centre-based hospital ahead of training on Tuesday, visiting a number of different families across various busy wards.

During the annual visit, which is always special to both the club and hospital, the players spent time handing out some Leeds United goody bags. This included books, teddy bears, snoods, lunchboxes, stickers, water bottles, chocolates and sweets, as well as chatting to all of the young patients and their loved ones, helping to lift the spirits of those who are having to spend time over the festive period in hospital and may have to continue doing so, including on Christmas Day.

Leeds United captain, Liam Cooper, spoke to LUTV about the heart-warming visit, saying: “For me, perspective is the biggest thing. Coming here today and seeing how poorly people are, kids and families who are away from their siblings and loved ones over Christmas, it definitely puts everything into perspective.

“To come here today and give a few gifts out and bring a smile to people’s faces is what it’s all about. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in a few of these and every year they get more special. I think we owe a massive thank you to the parents for letting us in to see their children at such a difficult time, and a big thank you as always to the staff and the nurses, they’re amazing people. We’re so grateful to be here and to be able to do this with our platform.”

Lisa Beaumont, Therapeutic & Specialised Play Manager at Leeds Children’s Hospital, added: “We’re extremely grateful to all the Leeds United players and support staff who visited Leeds Children’s Hospital.

“So many of our patients are big Leeds United fans and for them to meet their heroes while they’re in hospital is just magical! All the players have been wonderful with our patients, asking lots of questions and putting smiles on faces wherever they went.

“We do all that we can do to make sure that families spending Christmas in hospital still experience some festive magic and with the help of our friends at Leeds United, we have made a few wishes come true!”

Leeds United has a long-standing relationship with Leeds Children’s Hospital, which is one of this country's leading children’s hospitals. As always, it was an incredible experience for all involved to help spread some much-needed festive joy during what can be an extremely difficult time over Christmas for these families.