Squad Q&A: Duncan Williams
|Duncan Williams (right) with other referees Hary Milas (centre) and XXX (left) at the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow Image: Anita Milas
Duncan Williams is a Scottish referee who has officiated more than 800 matches. He started his journey with the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow in 2016 and went on to referee at the Homeless World Cup in Mexico in 2018.
Home is where I currently live in Denny, Scotland with my wife and two kids.
I grew up in Helensburgh on the River Clyde.
My first sporting memory is playing football on an old blaze football pitch on a cold winter's morning. Add in a Mitre Moldmaster football and those were the 'character building' days!
Saturday morning is a nice pre-match breakfast with my family and then a quick trip to the park with the kids, depending on the match location.
We can end homelessness by providing more affordable homes whilst continuing to offer vital services such as addiction support and mental health support to help people get back on their feet.
I believe we can improve football in Scotland by expanding the leagues to help the professional game develop, from what I've seen, more coach development for lower level/kids level football will help develop the basic football skills.
My favourite memory of the Homeless World Cup is from Glasgow in 2016. During the game between Greece v Mexico women, the match was very one sided but in an act of goodwill, the teams switched goalkeepers which was a really nice touch in terms of building relationships and friendships. A wonderful moment.
I don't have a referee role model but if I did it would have been Hary Milas. A truly great man who always had time to offer advice and his experience. Hary was a man I learnt a lot from, not just in football but also in life.
I love to keep fit and am often found doing my training sessions on my local astro pitch.
My advice I would give to my younger self would be to work hard and be self-critical. Never stop trying to better yourself in some sort of way and surround yourself in people you can trust to be honest with you, irrespective of circumstances.