Kyle Walker

Howard Holmes, his mentor at Football Unites, Racism Divides

I first met Kyle when he was seven. Our offices were very close to his estate, the Lansdowne Estate, and he was always running around the place, with mates who were all a lot older than him. We put these sessions on at a pitch nearby, but you had to get in a car or a minibus to get up there. There was no room for him in the car so he was left behind, kicking a ball or whatever, but when one of the kids didn’t turn up, one of the lads shouted to him: ‘Get your boots and you can come with us.’ He never stopped running, but he had some skill and he always wanted to know tricks.

I was incredibly proud that Kyle got me a ticket for the Colombia game. I got it with about 15 minutes to spare and I walked up the gangway and came out on to the pitch and the teams were just lining up. Kyle was on his own, right in front of me praying, and I was screaming at him ‘Kyle, I got the ticket’, but he was busy getting in the zone. I know he asked his mum afterwards whether I’d got it – not many footballers would do that.