I was hooked on heroin and heading for jail, playing football saved my life

CHARITY Street Soccer Scotland is set to welcome sporting icon Dame Kelly Holmes MBE to mark International Women’s Day in Edinburgh. 

The organisation uses football to inspire and empower people going through personal struggles, from addiction to mental health issues.

Founded in 2009 by David Duke, it provides free drop-in sessions, coaching and support with a focus on building confidence and helping people move on from their battles.

And the March 3 event, at the Assembly Rooms, players will share their inspiring stories, like Louise Fairweather, who turned her life around thanks to the charity.

Now Regional Female Coordinator for Street Soccer, Louise today writes about her amazing story and how others can benefit.

---

I FIRST heard about Street Soccer when I got into a bit of trouble back in 2017. 

I ended up in court and the options were a diversion order or a custodial sentence. 

A mentor at Tayside Council on Alcohol (TCA) told me about Street Soccer and I decided that was the right way to go – I’ve never looked back.

I remember the first time I came to Street Soccer. I was so nervous I couldn’t even speak to anyone, I just mumbled. 

But I went back the second week and was standing all shy and everyone knew my name. That was the first big surprise. 

They were just so happy to see me. That spurred me on to keep going, then I started going two or three times a week and it kept becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life.

For me, as an ex-heroin addict, the big difference with Street Soccer was the immediate acceptance. 

Just remembering my name – it felt like I was accepted into society and that there was support out there for someone like me. 

Our motto is ‘Same Team’ and it’s so true. We’re all one big team. The support and the confidence I’ve got now is unreal and it’s all thanks to Street Soccer. 

If I think about what my life would have been like without them, I think I’d be in custody. 

I have always said Street Soccer saved my life. 

Before I went, it was a really dark time and the easiest option was to go and take drugs. Street Soccer stepped in and said ‘the easier option is to come this way’, and right enough the easiest option was to come this way with a team behind me.

I now work with the organisation as Regional Female Coordinator Street Soccer’s Change Centre in Dundee. 

I do women’s sessions twice a week, set up the programmes with other agencies and I carry out individual personal development sessions, either putting girls through qualifications or building them up through the player programme into volunteering.

It’s amazing to see the progress they make. One girl I brought to Street Soccer, I now work with. Seeing her progression from when she came to the centre to now, she is thriving, she is out searching for jobs, she has the confidence to go on a bus herself. It may seem like a small thing but it’s massive to her and I watch on like a proud mum.  

I used to play football before I went to drugs, that was all I did, eat, breathe and sleep football. And it was a passion I thought I’d lost completely through drugs but it’s come full circle. 

Now I am back with that football at my feet and teaching others. We use the ball as life – this is an object that’s getting in our way, we have to stand and face it. We all face daily battles, no matter who we are, but with a ball at our feet, we forget the struggles of everyday life. 

It’s also a team effort, it’s about learning to build friendships and trust again, as that’s something that can go quite easily with an addiction.

The International Women’s Day event will be a fun-filled day with lots of activities, empowering and celebrating women – and letting them know ‘we can do this’. We’ll be getting girls up on stage to let others know about the programme. And I hope it brings people closer to the charity.

The Change centre is my second home. With these guys behind my back I can do anything – the sky’s the limit. 

Before I’d think I wasn’t capable of things, or that I’d never be employed due to criminal history. But Street Soccer doesn’t look at that, they look at how they can help. There’s no pointing fingers, it’s about moving on from your past.

My message to anyone who thinks Street Soccer might help them is that the first step is the scariest step, if you want we’ll come outside and meet you. We’ll take that step together.

We’re the same team – let’s thrive. 

We’ve all made mistakes and done things we’re not proud of, but Street Soccer isn’t about the past it’s about what’s next. 

• To find out more about the event or book tickets log onto go.streetsoccerscotland.org/WI23

We pay for your stories and videos! Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? Email us at scoop@thesun.co.uk or call 0141 420 5200