In a sumptuous summer of sport, we’ve had the Euros and the Olympic Games, with the Paralympics a week away. But for Selhurst Park season ticket-holder Seth Gillman, the match of his lifetime is still to come
Hat-trick hero: Seth Gillman scored three goals on his England trial
Little did Seth Gillman think that, at the age of 58, he would be playing football for England.
But that unlikely dream came true two weeks ago. Gillman learned that he had been chosen after taking part in a trial weekend in Liverpool. “They announced it at a team dinner that evening,” he told Inside Croydon.
“At first I felt shocked and surprised. Then I felt elated and proud. I thought it was a great honour.”
The team in question is the England Parkinson’s Walking Football team. The players all have Parkinson’s Disease, which can cause tremors, muscle weakness, slow movement and stiffness. A progressive neurological condition resulting from a loss of dopamine cells in the brain, it has no known cure, but the symptoms can be controlled for a time with medication.
Seth Gillman grew up in Croydon and attended Sylvan High School and Croydon College. He first noticed that he had lost mobility in his right hand and arm not long after he’d turned 50, in 2017. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 18 months later and is now being treated at King’s College Hospital in Camberwell.
He has learned that exercise and activity is as effective as medication in managing the symptoms of Parkinson’s. In 2022, after trying several walking football sides, he joined Fighting Fit FC in Watford.
“Until then I had avoided meeting other people with Parkinson’s because I didn’t want to know what my future could look like. But I was immediately welcomed and supported. I felt that I had found my tribe.”
Gillman was goalkeeper in the Sylvan football team and once played in a schools’ final at Selhurst Park. He became a Palace fan after his father took him to a match when he was eight and has been a season ticket-holder for 20 years. So it was “a huge thrill” to play at the Selhurst field of dreams. “And we won 2-1!”.
He also coached youth football teams. When he started to play again, it took him some time to recover his fitness. “Then I found I was recalling my muscle memory. Once I was on the pitch, the Parkinson’s symptoms seemed to fall away.”
Football hero: Ray Kennedy has been an inspiration for the Parkinson’s football tournament
Gillman has played in tournaments around the country. When Fighting Fit played at St George’s Park, the FA’s training centre in Burton-on-Trent, they won the Cure Parkinsons’ Cup, the major competition for Parkinson’s football in Britain.
He is now due to play in Norway in the Ray Kennedy Cup, named after the former Liverpool, Arsenal and England midfielder who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1984 and died in 2021.
It will be the 13th staging of the Ray Kennedy Cup, which this year is being held in Moss, Norway, over the weekend of September 6 to 8.
Gillman was invited to play in the trial in Liverpool after being spotted by the England management. “They said I had a good chance. But I hardly dared dream.”
Gillman scored three goals.
Then came the announcement that he had been selected. “I still can’t quite believe it.”
The England team promotes Parkinson’s Football and spreads the message about the benefits of exercise for PwP – People with Parkinson’s. They play abroad several times a year and also have a trip planned to the United States, which Gillman hopes to be part of.
Gillman, who now lives in Anerley, works as a young people’s counsellor in a London school and also runs a private counselling practice, seeing his clients in person or online.
“I’ve always been interested in what makes people tick. Being a therapist keeps me grounded, especially working with young people.”
He has important advice for anyone who suspects they may have Parkinson’s. “Get it checked as soon as possible,” he urges. “Early diagnosis is vital.”
If Parkinson’s is confirmed, “it’s important to stay active and positive”.
Exercise brings both physical and emotional benefits, and he recommends it to everyone, even if they haven’t played sport before. “Just give it a go and you’ll soon see the difference.
“You’ll feel better in mind, body and spirit.”
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