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The flag which flies on the Kop in memory of Owen McVeigh (pictured with dad Mark)

It was approaching 4pm last Thursday when Mark McVeigh took a call from Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan while making his route to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Having worked together across much of the last decade while the club have supported the charity foundation named in honour of his son, Owen, the call was not entirely a bolt from the blue.

This time, though, Reds chief Hogan, was not calling to check in on how plans for an abseil down the Anglican Cathedral in July were shaping up, or how the recent Thunder and Lighting Ball went at the Hilton Hotel.



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Instead, Hogan was reaching out on behalf of Liverpool FC with a special gesture of gratitude for how the Owen McVeigh Foundation has enriched the lives of children with terminal illnesses and provided respite for families experiencing unimaginable grief these past nine years.

Owen was only 11 when he passed away in December 2015, just days after being diagnosed with leukaemia and the Foundation that has carried his name ever since has become a vital source of help, through the oncology ward at Alder Hey, for those enduring similar heartbreak.

As a unique way of paying tribute to Mark and wife Joanne for their tireless work in the Merseyside community, Hogan was calling to ask if the McVeighs would be interested in playing a part in the first league title presentation in front of Liverpool fans for 35 years this Sunday, when Virgil van Dijk and co get their hands on the Reds' record-equalling 20th championship.

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It's an honour that deeply touched the McVeighs.

Captain Van Dijk has been a long-term champion of the Owen McVeigh Foundation, helping the organisation put on events for children such as pizza and cinema nights, meet-and-greets and various other ways of support that the Liverpool skipper has always been too modest to make public.

"He's been so kind to us over a long number of years now and he has backed the Owen McVeigh Foundation to the hilt," Mark says.

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Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield on April 27, 2025 (Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

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For Liverpool and their supporters, there is a certain sense of symbolism in having the legendary Alan Hansen on hand to present Van Dijk with the Premier League trophy itself on the day.

While the McVeighs will bring the gleaming piece of silver from the pitchside area before placing it on a plinth, it will be Hansen who will formally hand the title to Van Dijk himself.

The iconic Scot, who has fought back from serious illness that left him hospitalised 11 months ago, was the most recent club captain to hoist the league championship aloft at a packed Anfield and the 35-year wait for fans to see a repeat has felt like an eternity.

Lifelong Reds fans Mark counts himself among that innumerable group, adding: "I was there the last time he lifted the trophy in 1990 and he was a hero of mine, most definitely.

"I just think the club have got it spot on: from one great centre-half to another, two unbelievable captains of this football club.

It wouldn't get any better than those two as a partnership, would it?

"It's just humbling and when I saw the release [on Thursday], in writing, and you see your name next to Alan Hansen, who is like another god of the football club, isn't he?

"And it's really nice because I got to meet Alan recently with his wife at one of our lunch clubs and we got to sit with them and talk with them and it's so nice now that I get to meet him again doing this special thing now as well.

We spent a good afternoon together, supporting the Owen McVeigh Foundation at one of the lunches we do at the Arts School and it was nice just to be amongst him for that day.

"He told me he was playing golf the next day, so he is obviously still up and at it.
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