LUCAS Joao took centre stage as he joined in an after schools girls football session.

The Rovers hot-shot was all smiles as he passed on some tips to the group of girls at Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn.

The event was organised by Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, who run the Premier League Girls’ Football programme at several schools across the borough.

Joao kicked off the visit by taking part in a question and answer session, where he revealed that his football inspiration was the Brazilian Ronaldo, before joining in with some small-sided games.

The in-form striker, who has scored three goals in Rovers’ last three games, also proved to be a hit in goal, after offering his services between the sticks.

He then took part in a skills session, as he led a dribbling drill between the cones, before rounding off the afternoon by signing autographs and posing for photos.

“It’s always fun and it’s always good to be in places like this, to see different things, and this appearance was very nice,” said the 23-year-old forward.

“To put smiles on the faces of the children, this is the most important and the reason why we come here.”

Mrs Penelope Robb, Head of PE at Tauheedul Girls, said: “We’re trying to get as many girls as we can here at Tauheedul into sport and into football, and Blackburn Rovers have been fantastic in helping us to do that.

“They come every Tuesday to train and coach with these girls, and to have an actual player to inspire them and hopefully get them to support Blackburn Rovers more, is fantastic.”