A BLACKBURN Rovers star visited a school to inspire girls to continue developing their footballing skills.

Portuguese striker Lucas Joao is the first player to go to Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School through a partnership between the academy trust and the club which is into its second year.

Students have regular sessions at the school with the club’s coaching staff and there are also competitions at the club’s training ground that student teams play in.

The girls took part in a question and answer session with him before taking part in some matches with them and did some skills coaching.

The 23-year-old said: “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.

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

Year 11 student Hudaa Bax said: “Having Lucas come to our football sessions and seeing how talented he is has encouraged me to improve on my fitness and football.”

Year nine student Ayesha Adalat said: “Playing sports is really important to me.

“We are all really grateful to Blackburn Rovers and Lucas Joao for sprinkling some stardust on our sessions.”

Head of PE Penelope Robb said: “We are thrilled to have such a strong partnership between Tauheedul Education Trust and Blackburn Rovers.

“We want our students to be confident young sportswomen who inspire others to get playing, keep healthy and stay active.

“Having Lucas Joao create a buzz around our football sessions motivated the girls even more.

“We have some very talented young footballers here and I know they all loved the day.”

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