Earlier this year Street Football Wales came close to closing its doors. In a game that seems to have more money than ever before, where sponsorship deals run into the billions and transfer fees dominate headlines, we were trying to work out whether we could afford to pay our staff at the end of the month.
It was hard not to question how those two realities can exist side by side. More than anything, it made me think about what football is actually for.
We are surrounded by the professional game. The spectacle. The money. The endless debate. But the most powerful thing about football has never been any of those things. It’s the way it brings people together. At Street Football Wales, we work with people who have experienced homelessness, poor mental health, isolation and social exclusion. Football is the hook, but the game itself is only part of the story.
What keeps people coming back is the sense of belonging. For many of our players, football provides something that can be hard to find elsewhere: a place where they are welcomed without judgement, where they are known by name, and where they can be part of something bigger than themselves. They have somewhere to go. They have people who notice if they stop turning up.
A recent report from the Centre for Homelessness Impact described sport as having “considerable untapped potential” in preventing homelessness before crisis occurs. We see glimpses of that every week. Football creates friendships, confidence, routine and community. What continues to surprise me is where football can take people.
Around half of our staff team first came to Street Football Wales as players. We have had former players become board members. Women who joined our sessions have gone on to referee internationally with the Homeless World Cup Foundation, travelling the world through football and building opportunities that once felt impossible.
