When Vauxhall-based 5-a-side team Cockney Violets were left short following a last-minute dropout ahead of a top division clash at Powerleague Vauxhall on Wednesday night, the team did what thousands of 5-a-side players do every week: scramble to find a last-minute replacement.
What they didn’t expect was for former England striker, Emile Heskey, who earned 62 caps for England and made more than 600 professional appearances during his career, to answer the call.
Cockney Violets, who were searching for their first league win of the season, went on to record an emphatic 18-5 victory over their opponents. The 48-year-old former professional striker oozed class throughout, treating a growing crowd of spectators to a masterclass in hold-up play, before ending the game with the match ball after scoring a clinical hat-trick and providing several assists.
Heskey stepped in as a surprise ringer as part of Powerleague’s ‘World Cup Ringers’ campaign, launched in response to the small-sided football operator’s own research, which found that 84% of 5-a-side players have been left scrambling for a last-minute replacement.*
To help teams affected by player drop-outs, Powerleague has launched its ‘Ringerz’ WhatsApp community. Available across all 44 Clubs, it will connect players with teams needing a last-minute replacement, helping fill vacant spots and keep games going.
Speaking after the game, Heskey said: “The grassroots game is the heartbeat of football – this is where the real passion is. Seeing the reaction on their faces when I turned up was brilliant. Hopefully I did enough to earn my place in the team!”
Cockney Violets’ captain, Dan Rowberry, added: “We didn’t know it was happening, so to just rock up and see Heskeythere was unreal. At our age he’s pretty iconic, but then you speak to him and he’s just a normal, nice guy with a good bit of chat. On the pitch he scored a hat-trick and barely got out of second gear, which pretty much sums up the difference in class. It’s our biggest win as a club, so thank you to Emile, we’ll definitely try and turn this loan into a permanent signing!”
Fellow hat-trick scorer, and teammate that signed the Cockney Violets up for the opportunity, Oscar Norman added: “All the lads who made themselves unavailable this week are going to be absolutely gutted – especially our last-minute dropout David who couldn’t hack the heat! Every five-a-side team knows that panic when you’re a man down, but we got the ultimate ringer. What Powerleague has done here is brilliant. Having someone like Emile just slot in like a regular player, no fuss, no ego, it reminds you why you fell in love with the game. I am absolutely rubbish at football but I scored a hat-trick today, so World Cup 2030, I’ll be there.”
Powerleague CEO John Gillespie added: “We launched World Cup Ringers because we know that feeling of being a player down all too well – it’s the stuff of 5-a-side group chat nightmares. But this was about more than solving a numbers problem. It was about celebrating the grassroots game at a moment when the whole country has football on the brain. Having an ex-England number nine in Emile walk through that door and just get stuck in – that’s exactly the spirit we wanted to capture.”
