Saturdays at six
Before the players, before the referee, there is Maureen, a tea urn and a ground that needs waking up.
By Hana Shehu | 22 October 2026| 7 min read
Maureen's alarm goes at a quarter to six. By six she has unlocked the clubhouse, switched on the urn and laid out the cups in rows of ten. By seven the first coaches arrive, and they always find the tea already made.
“Nobody ever asked me to do it. Nobody's ever asked me to stop, either.”
She has done this for twenty-two years. She does not watch much of the football. She can, however, tell you which parents take sugar.
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