Glaswegian schoolgirl, Mirren King, is heading to Dublin to represent Scotland in the Dance World Cup finals in July after local retailer, Raheem Ali Razaq, agreed to sponsor her.
The 12-year-old, who specialises in hip-hop, passed the competition qualifier in November and is currently ranked first in Scotland and sixth in Europe.
Raheem has sponsored Mirren £250 and is also going to assist with a charity night to raise extra funds for the 11-day trip, which will see the young dancer enter solo, duo and teams categories.
Mirren and her mum, Debbie, are regular customers at Ali’s Nisa in Royston in Glasgow. “I use the shop for everything, I like the staff – they’re kind and helpful – you get everything you need in there,” Debbie told SLR. “Raheem always asks about Mirren and she told him she’d qualified. When he said he’d sponsor her I was shocked, I didn’t expect that from my local shop.”
Raheem was only too happy to support Mirren. “Debbie is one of my best customers and it’s a big feat for her daughter to reach that stage in an international competition. We’d do anything to help,” he said.
The kind-hearted retailer has supported numerous local causes since taking over the running of the store at the end of 2024. In 2025 he gave over £1,000 to charity and last month he donated £717 to Glasgow’s Fountain Trust charity, which provides food packages, clean water and eye care to those in need.
