It’s not often that there’s a heartwarming story to be told in football circles, but for one former Premier League defender, all of his dreams appear to have come true at the ripe old age of 38.
At one stage in his long career, which began in 2003 at Luton Town and still isn’t over in 2023 at Cheltenham Town, Curtis Davies would almost certainly have had aspirations to play for the England national team.
Unfortunately for the former West Brom, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Hull City and Derby County centre-back, a call-up for the senior side never materialised, and three U21 caps were all that he had to show for his troubles.
The very last thing he could’ve expected was a call up in a season that’s expected to be one of his last in the game, but that’s exactly what’s happened.
It will be a proud moment for me to pull on the shirt of The Leone Stars and make my family in Sierra Leone proud but most of all my dad. He did everything in his power to give me the best chance to become a footballer, so I dedicate this all to him. ??
— ?????? ?????? (@TheCurtisDavies) October 9, 2023
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Davies announced that he will be playing for Sierra Leone, the country of his father’s birth, in their upcoming friendly matches.
He’s able to do so because of having never appeared for the Three Lions at senior level. A similar situation occurred with Ryan Giggs who represented England at schoolboy level before changing his allegiances to Wales.
Even if these next games are the sum total of his international career, it’s clear from Davies’ posts just how proud he is.