Former Cork City player on an inspiring and sobering experience in India

Robbie Keane has enjoyed life in India, scoring last weekend in his first game as player-manager for Atletico de Kolkata, in the final game of the Indian Super League campaign. Former Coventry City and Cork City player John Andrews spent last season in a country whose players reignited his love of football, but whose social inequity made for a sobering and eye-opening experience.

ON the train to Dublin to finalise my visa, I really wasn’t sure. I was singing in a two-piece band, Jack & the Box, belting out tunes around the Cork bar scene, and I was still organising next month’s gigs.

It was August 2016. I didn’t want to leave Cork again. Life was good with a great girlfriend and truth is, I was terrified at the idea of living in such an impoverished country as India.