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When it's cup time, teams can make new friends the length and breadth of the country... and, sometimes, a little closer to home, as Nigel Scott reports.
SOME would say life is always grim in Armley. It certainly felt grim the other Sunday afternoon as the wind blew and the rain - that wet rain - lashed down on the huddle of parents who were brave/foolish enough to forego a comfy armchair for a football touchline. “It’s the glamour of the cup,” I said to anyone prepared to momentarily lift their faces to the elements. And indeed it was. The West Riding County FA Women’s Cup had handed Leeds United Ladies Reserves an away day trip, down the road, to the home of one of Leeds’ most remarkable clubs. Republica Internationale play proudly in red jerseys as befits an outfit to whom the ideal and philosophy of socialism has equal if not greater importance than the thrill of a well struck shot. Republica, as their website suggests, are distinguished by their philosophy and by their political commitment to "Freedom through Football". While the mainstream cries “Keep politics out of sport!” Republica’s stated intention, through its male and female teams, is to try to keep politics in sport. To be a member of their outfit is to live for the enjoyment and the spirit of the game but also to socialise “enthusiastically” and to engage in other forms of political action. Their base is the Cardigan Arms, on Kirkstall Road - one of the great old pubs of Leeds whose ancient timbers have not been cast on the bonfire of modernisation and where a hand-pulled pint of Tetley’s still tastes like it should. Yorkshire nectar, indeed.
From what I can gather this laudable collective was formed out of a meeting of minds among “footballing lefty radicals” - their words not mine - in the early to mid-1980s. This self-described collection of “anarchists, Marxists, neo-Marxists, Communists and socialists” had each played under and become disillusioned by the ethos and values of “typical” clubs - which they had identified as sexism, racism, machismo and a “win at all costs” philosophy. What was needed, they agreed, was a club which would counter these traditional prejudices and foster an egalitarian approach to the people’s game. I am thankful, again, to the club’s website, for furnishing me with such information as I was to the chap with whom I had a very interesting touchline chat. This was broken, suddenly and unexpectedly, by the smoke and light eruption of a red - what else? - flare on the pitch side which momentarily turned a cold, damp corner of Armley Park into something resembling the San Siro Stadium. The result was never in any doubt and the final margin of victory - 12-0 to Leeds - could have been much greater. But it was a tribute to the Republica team that, in keeping with their constitution, they never let their heads drop, never resorted to foul-play and maintained a commendable attitude throughout the 90 minutes in those most inhospitable of conditions. They reminded me a great deal of the Wakefield Express team for which I played the early 1980s and which, incidentally, boasted its own fair share of socialists. Our motto then had been “Modest in victory. Cheerful in defeat” - the latter was more often the case - an ethos which I’ve no doubt Republica Internationale would share. After the game it was back down the road to the Cardigan where we grateful parents were able to have our taxi-driving duties rewarded with one of those first class pints. Leeds could now look forward to the next round - where the opposition will prove more taxing but, I’ve no doubt, far less interesting. Nigel Scott. Reproduced by kind permission of the Yorkshire Evening Post. |
