20 years ago I was homeless, now I’m leading Scotland & England to World Cup

PROUD David Duke will lead both Scotland AND England into the Homeless World Cup later this month – 20 years after he himself was living in a hostel.

The 44-year-old from Govan, Glasgow, is the chief executive of Street Soccer Scotland and Street Soccer London where eight players from each country have been selected to join 49 nations at the finals in Seoul.

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So it’s no wonder he feels like a winner before a ball has even been kicked simply knowing the life-changing opportunities that the beautiful game can give people at their lowest ebb.

He says: “Twenty years ago I was living in a hostel with nothing to do.

“I had to face homelessness for three years and was dealing with depression and drinking more than I should’ve after the death of my dad in 2001.

“But when I got involved with football suddenly I was doing two training sessions a week. That gave me structure in my life and something to really look forward to.

“Because living in a hostel you are presented with negative opportunities but football brings positive opportunities”

He adds: “So the Homeless World Cup in South Korea is my 20th anniversary of when I actually played as a player.

“It’s interesting seeing the players selected every year thinking that was how my journey started too.”

In 2009 David founded Street Soccer Scotland and has been sending a squad to the HWC every year since.

He branched out into London in 2020 and will now see an England team compete for the first time when the eight-day competition begins in Seoul on September 21.

But Scotland will have a pre-tournie clash with the Auld Enemy when they meet enroute inside Paris’s Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

He says: “I think it’s like a four hour wait-over time so the guys have already said that they want to arrange a wee bounce match in the terminal with jackets for goalposts.

“That sounds like a lot of fun and will probably create a wee crowd too I’d imagine.” 

But for the 500 players from around the world taking part, David maintains they tragically all share very similar background stories.

He says: “Part of the magic when you go to the World Cup is when you talk to players from other countries and realise they’re just like you.

“It all comes down to the fact that we’re not all blessed with the same chances in life.

“Sometimes that’s through poverty or through ill-health or often things just don’t go the way we want it and it makes life tough.

“But thankfully when you go to these tournaments you see the power of football in action and how being involved in a community gives you that hope and purpose in life.”

Despite the growing success of the Homeless World Cup – with the tournament being staged in Asia for the first time in its 25 year history – critics may feel that homelessness is a problem that our political leaders should have sorted by now.

David admits: “Obviously we’d rather we didn’t need any sort of charity trying to tackle homelessness or poverty or mental health.

“But whilst we do need them, we want to create a positive experience. We’re now in more rural locations like Alloa and Fife and Ayrshire, because the demand is there, sadly.

“People are feeling lonely, feeling left out but we’ll always try and pick them up. Because when you’re on the pitch you’re never alone.”

Scotland ace John McGinn, 29, gave the lads a huge surprise send-off when he turned up at rain-soaked Hampden earlier this week.

And while few will ever reach the same heights as the Aston Villa midfielder, the squad still believe that football has already given them more than they could have ever wished for.

Goalkeeper Kieran Black, 24, from Maryhill, Glasgow, said: “I got involved with Street Soccer Scotland in 2017 as I was living in a homeless unit and one of my pals said we should try it – I’ve been going ever since.

“I was anxious at first but they made me feel comfortable. It’s like my home now.

“I just kept turning up and trying my hardest and here I am going to South Korea, a country I never dreamed of visiting.”

Kieran added: “I’ve got a lot more confidence and feel more sociable now. My headspace is a lot better and I’m now doing sports and fitness at college whereas before I wasn’t doing anything.”

And it’s stories like that that keep driving David on.

David says: “Over 20 years I’ve seen so many players change their lives around. I just feel blessed to be part of it all.”

As for what side he’ll be supporting when his Scotland team takes on his England side, he diplomatically adds: “May the best team win.”