DHAKA: Football took Fara Williams from budding starlet, bursting on to the international scene at just 17 years old in 2001, to seasoned old hand, where she is now just a handful of matches away from being England’s most-capped player ever.

She has battled her way to becoming one of the finest midfielders in the world. And she did it while being homeless.

For six years the now 30-year-old balanced living rough and in hostels with impressing on the football pitch. Many of her team-mates were none the wiser.

‘I just didn’t want to tell people,’ Williams reveals to BBC Sport, the first time she has spoken publicly about being homeless.

‘People have a judgement of who should be homeless and who shouldn’t, and I felt people would judge me.’

‘I put on a brave face and lived my life as a normal person would, as though I was living at home.’

The Liverpool Ladies player, who left previous club Everton in 2012, was homeless during much of her early career, celebrating her 18th and 21st birthdays in hostels.

‘The cause of most homelessness, which people aren't aware of, is family breakdown, it’s not just addictions, that’s just what people turn to (as a result of being homeless).

‘People are mainly scared of the homeless they see on the streets. They’re intimidated by them but they’re normal people with problems. We all have problems,’ she adds.

Williams’ experiences led her to work with the Homeless FA, where she coaches homeless girls and women every week.

BDST: 1433 HRS, JUNE 02, 2014