Israeli captain’s hard-earned reward
“this feels like a massive reward for all our hard work.”
When Yaniv Abebe’s cousin decided he wanted to help the Israeli captain, Abebe’s life completely changed.
|Image: Mile 44
After struggling with addiction and being made homeless, getting into a rehabilitation programme in Jerusalem started the 35-year-old Abebe on a whole new journey.
He explained: “I started drinking too much and that led to me falling out with my family, my brothers, and my friends.
“I was getting into trouble with the police and obviously my family didn’t like that and dropped me from the family home.
“I was sleeping on the streets until my cousin stepped in and [took] me to the hostel in Jerusalem.”
Now, after two and a half years in the programme, Abebe scored a hat-trick on his debut for the Israeli team at the 2019 Homeless World Cup in Cardiff.
Having come to the Israeli capital from Ethiopia in 1985, Abebe said: “I’m really enjoying my stay [in Cardiff], and I’m just so glad to be here. We’ve been practising such a long time, so this feels like a massive reward for all our hard work.
“We were disappointed to lose the game after being tied at 4–4, but I’m proud of all the players for playing so well.”
Having scored three of his country’s four goals in the opening day defeat to Pakistan, Abebe says he is looking forward to the rest of the tournament and a positive future.
Words: David Brockett
Images: Mile 44