A YMCA DownsLink Group (YMCA DLG) resident has been chosen from thousands of candidates nationally to play for Team England at the Homeless World Cup taking place 19th – 26th October. Thirteen English men and women who have faced homelessness flew to Santiago, Chile, on Thursday 16th October for the annual Homeless World Cup tournament featuring teams from 63 other nations.
Jahobi Maher who was a resident at YMCA DownsLink Group’s Crawley Foyer but now lives at one of our move on properties, was selected for the national team after taking part in a five-week training programme back in April. Jahobi, along with three other YMCA DLG residents began training at the AMEX Stadium, home to Brighton & Hove Albion. Now, after being selected for the Homeless FA national squad, Jahobi is training at the state of the art St. Georges Park National Football Centre, training ground for all of the England national football teams.
When describing his experience Jahobi said, “This is all so unreal. I can’t explain it in words. If someone had told me three years ago that there would be an England kit with my name on it hanging up at the National Squad’s training ground, I would not have believed them.”
