Sorba Thomas: From scaffolder to the World Cup qualifiers

Wales' latest call-up used to play non-league football part-time

Author: Ellis MaddisonPublished 6th Oct 2021

Sorba Thomas, the 22-year-old footballer from Newport, has been called up to the Welsh national team for the first time.

Thomas, who plays for Championship side Huddersfield Town, used to be a scaffolder and play non-league football part-time.

Since joining Huddersfield Town from National League Side Boreham Wood at the start of the year, he's already won Championship player of the month for August, scoring one goal and making four assists in five appearances.

He'll now be available for Wales in their two World Cup qualifying matches against Czech Republic and Estonia, and he says the news left him speechless:

“When the Wales call came up my mate went to me, you know nine months ago you were playing non-league?"

"I had to work it out in my head, is it definitely nine months, because it feels longer? The fact that everything’s happened so quick... I’m speechless really.”

The Huddersfield winger even stuck the Welsh flag over the English flag during a video where Huddersfield Town players were presented with their FIFA 22 cards.

He said he's "a Welsh man", and stressed he only wanted to play for the country he was born in: "Does FIFA not look at my social media? From the whole Euros my social media was based on Wales.

When Huddersfield did the FIFA ratings, it was a moment where I could kind of show everyone where my head’s at, and obviously I got a little cut out of the Welsh flag and put it on top of the England flag."

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.