World Cup to kick-start a new way of looking to aid homeless

The action starts on Sunday in George Square, with the team taking on Norway.

Paige has had problems in her past with alcohol and drugs but, like many people before her, she is indebted to Street Soccer Scotland. It has also helped her make friends with other women who have been in the same situation.

“This is what’s important to get over,” she says. “It’s been great to see all the other lasses come on as well.

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“We’ve all got a story. When we’re out there playing, I don’t want people to forget that it’s more than football. We’ve all got stories to tell. We have all fought just to stay alive. Now we’re all here, and it’s better than what I ever imagined. We’re all really strong people, building something for ourselves.”

She believes that the team can set a first-class example to others. “This is a great example for lasses all over Scotland, to be looking at us, regardless of whether they’re interested in football or not. They might look at us and say to themselves – ‘That’s bloody brilliant. What can I do with my life now?’

“I know I can do something now, personally. It’s not about me telling myself, ‘I’m stuck in this place, blah blah blah’. A lot of people feel like that, and that’s not surprising, given the sheer amount of social disadvantage there is just now.

“But you can use that to your advantage as well – you go forward, and you try your best. You can get involved with whatever appeals to you.

“A lot of people with my sort of background are really good, hard-working people,” Paige adds. “Some parts of the media might bash them but I want to be an example to young people who might have problems with drugs, or with their families, or with homelessness. I want to reach out to people. That’s part of my life’s purpose.”

Paige got clean last year. “I started the whole process with rehab. Then mutual-aid groups and a day programme were so important for me to get support.

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“I heard about Street Soccer from a friend who was also in recovery. Street Soccer was a vital step towards building something bigger than myself.”

When Paige first turned up at the Powerleague pitches in Townhead, where Street Soccer Scotland runs various projects, “I was a lassie amongst all these guys. It was nerve-wracking, but the team has taught me so much. It’s about a lot more than just football.

“The personal development in Street Soccer is second to none. You can start at the drop-in sessions, which is what I did. And all of a sudden I’m in it with friends and with people I really admire and who are great examples to me.

“I got my coaching badges and then started volunteering with recovery communities, and it was through that that I got into the trials for the Homeless World Cup.”

Despite its name the world cup is about more than just homelessness. “It’s about social disadvantage as well as homelessness, the world cup. I was at risk of homelessness,” Paige says.

“I had a hard time growing up, trying to fit in, but now I’ve got a solid foundation in my recovery and my life.”

Paige now hopes to complete her SVQ3 in community development to add to the HNC she already has in the same subject.

“It’s something that I hope to take forward into a job. I might be unemployed at the moment, but I’m one of the busiest unemployed people you’ll ever meet – I’m volunteering, and giving back to the community.”

As a bonus, Paige has grown much closer to her family again since she got clean. “I’d isolated myself from them and I didn’t really know them, and they didn’t know me. I missed so much of my younger cousins’ lives and I regret that,” she says. “But there’s nothing I can do about that now.

“All I can do now is focus on the future and be an example for them. It’s something that I’m really excited about. They’re a great support to me.”