Dear Ma

London Titans has changed my life. Little did I know, a decade ago when I first joined the club, that it would. In my first game, I met you for the first time. You were unlike any football manager I had ever seen before. On the sideline, camp as Christmas, full of joy, with a sharp wit and cutting humour, quite simply the life and soul of the team. I remember nothing at all about what happened on the pitch in that match. But everything on the sidelines remains vivid. I don’t really know what I expected, joining a gay football club shortly after coming out and moving to London. But this rag-tag band of gay characters had me hooked, and you starred as the conductor of the show.

I was not always on your LUL team over the decade I’ve been at the club. But what I remember from each season I spent in your team was the faith you had in me as a player, and the confidence that instilled in me and my own game, which allowed me to improve. The advice you gave, the encouragement, the absolutely spot-on accurate tactical guidance. I grew as a player each time I represented your team. Every match was a joy, seeing your trademark approach to football management. Roasting your players when they deserved it. Encouraging them when they needed it. And celebrating them when they earned it. These are the attitudes that Titans embodies, and nobody did so better than our dearest Ma.

As time went on and my love for Titans grew ever stronger, I decided to give back to the club and join the committee. You were there alongside in my first year. At this time I also first stepped up to management in the GFSN, and you volunteered to support. It was an honour to have you beside me, learning how to be a true Titans manager from the person who had perfected the craft. The legacy you have created in Titans is second-to-none, and it will be my honour to have a small part in continuing it.

It was a joy to experience some of the highest highs with you, on our club trip to Vienna and at the Birthday Tournament in October. Little did we know at that time that the lowest of lows would soon follow. But I will cherish those final moments forever, and consider it a privilege that I had the opportunity to spend those times with you.

Ma, you will always be in my heart. A Titan of the Titans. I miss you dearly.