“I was humming the anthem quietly in my head”
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
Representing your team at the Homeless World Cup will be a life-long memory for the more than 500 players taking part for their respective nations at this year’s tournament in Cardiff.
Yet for Rachel Davis, being part of the Welsh reserve squad meant that she made her bow in the competition against her adopted nation in their opening fixture against Northern Ireland.
‘It was a shock to be called on in the first game on the first day as unfortunately some of the Northern Ireland squad had to pull out,’ she said.
The Welsh reserve side is on hand to fill in for teams who arrive late and miss their opening games, or to provide players for teams who are short on players due to absence or injury.
And the 27-year-old, who is originally from The Wirral and who has lived in Swansea for the past three years, admits even though she was wearing the jersey of another nation as she lined up against Wales, she found herself joining in with the Welsh national anthem.
‘I was humming it [the anthem] quietly in my head,’ she said about the opening game.
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
Rachel has been involved with the Street Football Wales for the past three and a half years, having been under the supervision of public services in the past. And she feels that, thanks to football and her participation with Street Football Wales, she’s been able to turn her life around.
‘My supervision in the past has finished now and I’m done with that and I’ve come out the other side. Being involved with Street Football Wales has allowed me to feel part of something again—being able to get involved and not feel left out,’ she said.
And being an English player playing for Northern Ireland in their opening match against her adopted nation of Wales, Rachel, who has her six-week-old son on hand to cheer her on, really seems to have bought in to the overall spirit of the tournament here in Cardiff.
‘Here you leave your problems at the side of the pitch.The Homeless World Cup and the whole ethos of it is football and making new friends new family.
‘It’s not about winning, it’s about taking part and being part of something where you’re accepted.’
Words: Craig Williams
Images: Daniel Lipinski