Leeds United man summoned to special Elland Road meeting as Whites extend life-saving impact

Junior Firpo rushed straight from training to Elland Road, having been summoned to a special meeting, where his arrival and participation were welcome, but he was not the story.For more than two years now the club's charity arm, Leeds United Foundation, has been running a cafe for veterans. Its success, which can be measured in life-saving impact and not just attendance figures, has led to the introduction of a new monthly evening session to facilitate those who struggle to get to the morning sessions. Tuesday's Elland Road launch of what will be called Veterans Extra Time brought together a group of veterans and family members for a chat, some scran and then a conversation with Firpo. When the food arrived, there were no second invitations needed, but what was most striking was how quickly and naturally the conversation flowed.

Simon Brown has been attending the cafe since not long after its formation. He comes along because enjoys it, not because he needs it. But the 45-year-old has no doubt that there is a need for what Leeds United are doing. He told the YEP: "There's lots of research that people who leave the military of their own accord take about 10 years to re-engage, because people feel they need to prove they can be on their own. If you join the military there are certain civil liberties you surrender and you can get a bit lost, separated and isolated from your natural family or community, and because of where you're posted you can often find yourself relocating to a new community. You have to rebuild again and find those friendship groups. There are social and geographical issues that make resettling as veterans difficult. But we're a big community who will look after ourselves. We have a way of doing things, how we speak to each other, three letter acronyms. We've got Phil turning up in his mid-80s, some guys in their early 20s and 30s. They can sit together and talk and you wouldn't know there are four generations between them. Although they've served in different countries in a slightly different uniform, their experiences and the task they were asked to do is the same. Bringing them together is important."

Brown works in the veteran sector and likes having the chance to get alongside those who need a bit of support. He was once in their shoes. "I joined the military in '97, operational tours in Kosovo in '99, where I spent months emptying mass graves when we found out about the ethnic cleansing. Coming back from that I had real mental issues, but being an idiot as a man I refused to admit there was something wrong and let it fester into something more sinister. Two operational tours in Iraq in '03 and '06. In '06 I was a commander of a recovery team, we went in to rescue six blokes and during the extraction I was shot by a sniper. The bullet went in my left cheek and out my right cheek. As you can imagine it ruined my Wednesday morning. Fortunate enough to survive, the bullet somehow didn't knock me out and I was able to do my own first aid for 25 minutes. I was put into a drug-induced coma and woke up in Birmingham three weeks later and my life changed when I woke up. My brother is here tonight supporting, I had a good family around me, a good community around me and that's what helped me rebuild my life over the next two decades. Because I've had that opportunity, I've found myself back in work, having a decent life, I feel I'm well placed to support others in tough times and you feel better by helping others."

What he values about this particular chance to help others, is that the Leeds United Foundation are sculpting it around what the veterans actually want and need. "The opportunity Leeds United have given us, the team ask for our voices and opinions so we develop the group in a way that supports the community," he said. "It's not just about the club looking good, they listen to us and they're actually asking how we develop it so more people can benefit. I've watched it grow. It's got like a core of regulars and others who dip in and out. You're starting to see the benefit to some of those who needed it. You see confidence grow. The brand brings people in. It's evolved into its own sort of system of support, that's what's nice. There's two things that bond us, football - not everyone is a Leeds fan - and the veteran side of it. It's really good."

Kindred, who partner with Leeds United through their UniBet brand as a kit sponsor, have provided the funding for the extra veterans cafe session. Simon Wood, health and wellbeing lead at the Leeds United Foundation, is excited about the possibility of growing the cafe and adding to what they already do at Elland Road, which is quite literally life-saving. One of his most striking anecdotes centres around a veteran who opened a conversation with a ‘thank you’ and then when on to explain how he had experienced no suicidal thoughts during his three months of involvement with the cafe.

"It's a safe place where they can come and find acceptance," Wood told the YEP. "Veterans can experience struggles adapting to coming out of a regimented lifestyle. We can help signpost them to support mechanisms. We've had people who have not quite got through the door some weeks, you see them again at the door the next week and on the third week they might come through the door. The most pleasing thing is the conversations. You see various ages, some just sit and listen at their first session and then start to engage. They're meeting people they've not seen for 30 years, but they did basic training together. People who lived three streets away and didn't know have met. They can build a social network. There's a level of peer to peer support. An elderly gentleman came along and was struggling to access medical services, so another member informed him about registering as a veteran with his clinic, so he might be able to get through to some services more quickly."

Football can seem so trivial in a conversation about mental health issues or the unthinkable trauma some veterans have experienced, but the sport and the club act as a conversation starter. "The badge helps," said Wood. "And they're coming somewhere they love. They're coming to 'church' when it's quiet. We open the doors and people can spend time within the club environment. It becomes like a changing room, with some of the RAF and army banter. There's a healthy noise. Having club sponsors willing to put back into the community helps massively. This is really impactful, it's one of those groups we enjoy running."

And player visits have formed a key part of what Wood and his team are doing. Last season Max Wober spoke freely with the veterans of his own mental struggles. Sam Byram got involved with a session in the Elland Road home changing room. And Firpo is the latest to sit down to discuss the parallels that can be drawn between veterans and footballers, around belonging to a team, putting in a shift for others, being away from home and living a regimented life. They talk football too, of course. Firpo wants to talk about the fans and how many miles they covered in recent weeks. The veterans want to know about Daniel Farke, about injuries, the training regime, the camaraderie, about this winning streak and Friday night's big game. It's a two-way conversation, though. The ex-Barca man leaves with plenty of insight, because you can trust Leeds fans to say it how it is. He leaves with a challenge too - they want a specific celebration if he scores against Leicester. Of course the odds are not in their favour, Firpo is a left-back, with two goals in 67 appearances. But should he hit the net in his second Elland Road appearance of the week, it might not just be a Leeds salute he gives.