ROBERT’s Story: TEAM sweden
Robert A Tilge grew up moving around a lot with his sick mother in Karlstad, later in custody of a loving father in a city at the time with less than a 100 thousand inhabitants.
He is now living alone in a small apartment on the southside of Stockholm after lots of months sofa surfing and staying at his younger sister’s house due to problems with alcohol, drugs and depression.
How did you get involved with the player selection programME for HWC Sacramento?
Invited by a friend who was with me on a 12 step programme.
What have you done since joining the HWC Sacramento team?
I have become healthier, I am now working full time, I opened up and I became a better version of myself.
I also re-established contact with family & friends.
What is your relationship with football?
Football is my life and my main hobby. It offers me a chance to escape reality for a while. It’s my number one sport out of many I like. Football is always number one!
How do you feel about representing your country?
It’s a magical feeling. My children’s friends ask me if I’m going to play with Zlatan… I joke with them and say you never know but in my opinion, representing Sweden at the Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup is much more amazing than meeting Zlatan!
How has life changed since becoming part of the programME?
In a positive direction, I am much happier, I’m looking forward to the future and I’m surrounding myself with people that are focusing on building them self up in healthy environments.
To anyone reading this that is struggling:
Give up fighting and struggling. Ask for help and listen carefully when it’s given.
What is your next big step to move forward in your life?
A long bucket list that needs to be taken care of and to continue to help others that have been in similar stages of life where I have been.
Find out more about our Swedish Member Country here