Jamie Clarke grew up admiring David Beckham and probably never dreamed about following in his footsteps.
Clarke, 33, is captain of England’s Deaf team and they begin their preparations for September’s World Cup in Kuala Lumpur with a friendly against Germany at Telford United on Friday night.
The Germany clash will make history because it is the first ever ticketed game, hundreds are expected to attend and the national anthem will be sung with the aid of a sign language expert with a flag used by the referee rather than a whistle.
Clarke is a prolific striker for Pershore Town - who are non-league step five which is the highest level of all the players - and has also starred in the Channel 4 show SAS: Who Dares Wins as well as being a part-time model in a career which meant he lived in the States for a while.
Several league clubs have been interested in him down the years but nothing beats playing and representing England - and training at St George’s Park means they interact with Gareth Southgate’s senior team.
Clarke, who played for Worcestershire as a youngster, said: “As a kid, I never thought it could happen to me. I never thought I would play for my country but this is inspiring for me.
“Growing up, David Beckham was my hero because he was a great player and the modelling. Then Cristiano Ronaldo because he always wanted to be the best. But also Harry Kane because he sets such a good example to the team and is what a captain should be.
“There were quite a few clubs interested in me but it never happened and I can look back now and think: ‘I played for England.’ When you play for your country, there’s nothing bigger than that.”
Incredibly, Clarke could have a busy autumn and winter because the World Cup is in September and he could also play at the World Futsal Championships in November in Brazil.
Indeed, he is a busy man away from football as well; as he also plays cricket with the world championships due to be played in Qatar or Dubai in December.
It could be an emotional experience for Clarke and one of his biggest supporters, dad Ant, as Jamie’s granddad was stationed in Malaysia in the 1950s, having turned down the chance to play professionally for Aston Villa to join the Army.
England fans furious after Naples trip cancelled
Travel agent Sportsworld infuriated England fans by cancelling a trip to Naples at the last minute for the Euro qualifier with Italy.
They blamed not being able to secure return travel while recent troubles in the Italian city must have come into their thinking.
But the only consolation has been that England fans who lost their trip will still get a “full cap” in the points system for tournament tickets and a refund.
It means less than 2,500 fans who had tickets were able to travel.
Wolves Records
Wolves having their own record label is one of the most fun stories in the Premier League.
They have now signed up-and-coming artist Ben Kidson - who was a finalist in American Express’s 'Unsigned' competition in July 2022 - and one of his biggest fans is Led Zeppelin rocker and Wolves fan Robert Plant.
Wolves fan Ben said: “It’s mad to be signing to a record label, let-alone a record label that is also my football team. It’s nice to be able to represent my club, as well as doing something I love.”
