Swansea’s Jamal Lowe: From PE teacher to EPL player
Swansea striker Jamal Lowe hopes to complete the journey from PE teacher to Premier League player in the shadow of the Wembley arch he knows so well.
Harrow-born Lowe grew up 15 minutes away from England’s national stadium with dreams of making the big time as he set out on his football journey.
Those thoughts were a distant dream as Lowe trawled around the non-League circuit, from Hayes to Hampton & Richmond and many points in between.
But the 26-year-old is now just 90 minutes from fulfilling his ambition as Swansea prepare to play Brentford in the Championship play-off final on Saturday.
“Playing at Old Trafford, Anfield, the Emirates, Tottenham’s new ground – the best stadiums in England and Europe – would be a dream,” Lowe said.
“It’s been one hell of a journey and I’m still in the process of striding forward.
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“But sometimes you get reminders from a few years ago when it pops up on your phone that you were doing a PE club, and now I’m playing for Swansea in the Championship.
The Swansea forward grew up just 15 minutes from Wembley
“There are a lot of pinch-yourself moments, but definitely achieving this goal would be the proudest of them all.”
Lowe admits he could not escape the shadow of Wembley growing up in north-west London.
The construction of the new Wembley began in 2002, when Lowe was eight, and he could not even avoid seeing the stadium at first club Barnet.
“I saw the stadium being built as I lived so close to it,” Lowe said.