Liverpool Ladies midfielder Fara Williams is a patron for Liverpool Homeless FA and coaches the women's side.
Amongst the thousands
of football clubs in England, competing in various league and cup competitions,
there is one striving to make a difference on the lives of its players.
Liverpool Homeless Football Club was founded in 2007 and operates a league made
up of 18 teams, with players from different hostels and accommodations around
Liverpool.
Initially the club
was launched with just 6 teams and was male-only, in recent years this has expanded
now to cover the ever-growing women’s game in the country. Lisa Thomas has been
a volunteer for the women’s team since November 2012 and her duties for the
club consist of arranging games, attending training and matches, managing the
social media aspects and maintaining communication between staff and players to
name just a few. Recently a game was organised with Merseyside Police, designed to build positive relationships between the two.
For its players
Liverpool Homeless F.C. has the opportunity to change their lives, as Lisa says
“there is an infamous quote used by the club – that it is ‘more than just a
game’”. This is what sets Liverpool Homeless F.C. apart from other clubs; Lisa
adds that as well as forming great friendships with each other and allowing the
players to get out of their hostels and accommodation, “the club also support
players trying to gain a career out of sport by putting them on the ladder when
it comes to coaching badges.”
Another opportunity
available to players is the chance to participate in the Homeless World Cup, a
tournament featuring homeless teams from 16 nations. Lisa explains that “anyone
who has experienced homelessness within the past two years can attend trials at
Manchester United”, here the players are “put through various training sessions
and workshops” for the chance to be selected to represent England. Along with
Liverpool Homeless F.C. there is a homeless football project in Middlesborough
which also provides players.
The coach of
Liverpool Homeless Football Club’s women’s team is Fara Williams. Fara Williams
is a full-time professional footballer for Liverpool Ladies and, at the time of
writing, has been capped 123 times for England as well as being chosen to
represent Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics.
Lisa Thomas works
alongside Fara and says of her involvement that “the right balance is required
and that is something that Fara definitely offers… the girls benefit from the
training drills and sessions provided but most importantly they enjoy attending
training where they know they can play with a smile on their face.” Providing
the right atmosphere and coach is crucial to the success of the club and there
is no better person for this role than Fara Williams, inspirational to the
players given how she turned her
life around to succeed and use her success to inspire others.
Players from
Liverpool Homeless F.C. have gone on to play football outside of the club,
including “two players now signed up by AFC Liverpool Ladies and play football
on a weekly basis outside of Liverpool Homeless F.C.” Again displaying the
openings that become available, this is where the main emphasis of the club
lies and Lisa is keen to stress that “the football is competitive but has a
stronger emphasis on inclusion and encouraging fair play, respect and team
work.” Allowing the players to build upon their experiences and open new doors
for them.
Through researching the club, the optimism that it breeds is
evident. The opportunities it gives those involved to turn their lives around
is perhaps unrivalled, whether through the aforementioned coaching badges, help
with players health and accommodation or simply to get them off the streets and
playing a sport that they love. To the players of Liverpool Homeless Football Club
the sport is more than just a game, it’s their lives.
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