Exclusive Roly Brookeman: I went from playing in the World Cup to living on the streets

Brookeman was denied two shots at the Olympics. In 1976, Great Britain looked set to qualify for good before they were told to compete in a play-off against Belgium, resulting in Great Britain being named only as a reserve nation. The boycott of the 1980 Olympics meant that the hockey team stayed at home.

Brookeman embarked on his last tour with England at the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai. The World Cup returns to India this year, with the tournament kicking off on Friday when England take on Wales in Rourkela.

“We had a team meeting and the vast majority of the squad wanted to be with their families for Christmas,” says Norman Hughes, England’s 1982 captain.

So the team, along with vice-captain Brookeman, set off on Boxing Day with the World Cup starting three days later.
“The main teams were there and we didn’t acclimatise in time,” admits Hughes. “We sent one player to the hospital for dehydration, and on New Year’s Eve we drank and sang Kalinka with the Russians.”

As amateurs, the England players raised funds for a tour of Australia last year by sponsoring a ride from Liverpool to Bisham Abbey. It was seen as a turning point for many of that generation – five of them won Olympic gold in 1988 – as England overcame the feared Australians in a 2-1 series win.

After ninth place in the World Cup, however, Brookeman’s time was up. “It was a bit of a blow,” he says. “I came back and had enough. Hockey was a big part of my life, so I decided to relax, get married and spend time with my wife.”
Brookeman returned to teaching and then became a manager at a squash club. The breakdown of his marriage in the early 2000s led to the implosion of Brookeman’s world after he described his life as “Posh and the Becks of Canterbury all at once.

“My world fell apart with divorce and depression, but what kept me going was sports and hockey.”

He went on to play for Canterbury, reaching the State Veterans final in the early 2000s and scoring alongside Sean Kerly. He was 59 years old and playing his final season, scoring a penalty in the 2010 final to beat Richmond.

“Hockey was a lifeline for many years, but it wasn’t in my heart, even though I stayed in shape,” he recalls before living in Spain. When he later returned to the UK, he found it difficult to adjust. “It’s not that I didn’t have money, but when you’re trying to start over, it’s hard,” he says.

Sleeping rough during the prolonged fine weather was not a comfort. “People who have less in life give you more,” he says of the locals who helped.

It was Brookeman’s daughter who eventually stepped in and gave him the number of Catching Lives, a local charity that helps rough sleepers find accommodation.

“Roly has achieved great things,” says Hughes. “He was a clown, but he also had a serious side and he was a great wingman. I hope he is doing well.”

Brookeman is not surprised to hear that each of India’s 2023-year-olds will earn £105,000 if they host the World Cup on home soil on January 29. “There has always been an element of professionalism in India. We just seemed to go back and go back to our jobs,” he says.

“For me it wasn’t about the money, it was about the excitement. I have traveled the world and for that I am eternally grateful. They said I was the fastest at five meters, I had a great change of pace and ball control. I’ll take that too and give myself a pat on the back every now and then.”

The Men’s World Cup is from January 13-29. BT Sport will broadcast all matches