‘Football saved me’: Street Soccer coordinator Sarah Rhind on life after heroin addiction

Charity worker’s unsparing book explains how the game created support networks and ‘beautiful friendships’

The Bishopton Ladies goalkeeper and Street Soccer charity coordinator Sarah Rhind is emphatic about how integral football has been to her survival. “I can wholeheartedly say that without it I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in now – if I was even lucky enough to still be here,” she says. “There’s been different times in my life where football showed up and was really a platform that saved me.”

The 42-year-old is speaking in Glasgow after the publication of her autobiography, Scars Under The Jersey. The book details Rhind’s battle with heroin addiction, which took her into the darkest places, her recovery and the role football played in it, with Rhind going on to earn promotion to the Scottish top flight with Hamilton Academical in 2021.