Jurgen Klopp will become the first-ever honorary ambassador of Liverpool’s official charity, the LFC Foundation.
Klopp was a long-time champion of the Foundation’s work during his nine years on Merseyside as Reds boss and regularly helped out the organisation with public speaking on its behalf or opening up the doors of the club’s AXA Training Centre to welcome in patrons of the charity with meet-and-greet events.
After Klopp’s final game as Liverpool boss on May 19, when his Reds side beat Wolves 2-0 in the last fixture of the Premier League season, the LFC Foundation were given a range of unique items worn and signed by the ex-manager for a fundraising auction which raised £40,000 in a week.
And while Klopp has since moved away from the Merseyside area to divide his time between a holiday home in Majorca and back in his homeland of Germany, the iconic former Liverpool boss has now been granted special status with the LFC Foundation.
Speaking about his role as an honorary ambassador, Klopp said: “The LFC Foundation does an incredible job in the community, both in the Liverpool City Region and beyond. I am really proud to continue my work with them and be named the first ever LFC Foundation honorary ambassador. I look forward to seeing what we can do with that now that I have more time on my hands.”
Matt Parish, CEO of the LFC Foundation, added: “We are delighted that Jurgen is continuing his support of the Foundation as our first honorary ambassador. Having his support has been priceless for us over the years and to have that continue is fantastic and highlights his commitment to the Foundation and the work that we continue to do across the Liverpool City Region.
“Jurgen’s love and passion for the city has been clear throughout his time at the club and it can only benefit us having his support and his voice championing the work that we do moving forward.”
LFC Foundation supported 123,000 people across the 2022-23 season, according to the most recent figures available, and in the last three years the Foundation has delivered more than £65million in health benefits and contributed more than £16million directly in to the local economy.
Last season’s Legends game against Ajax raised almost £1.2million, a record from a single Legends fixture, with a large percentage of the proceeds supporting the education programmes run by the Foundation to tackle a range of social issues and increase the life chances of young people in the local community.
Klopp won every major honour available during his time with the Reds including a sixth European Cup in June 2019 and a first domestic league title for 30 years 12 months later. A first-ever Club World Cup was added to the trophy cabinet in December 2019 also.
Klopp was replaced by Dutchman Arne Slot at the beginning of June on a three-year deal.