Goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel is part of the Wales squad for Euro 2025. She is sparky, thoughtful, and has an infectious laugh. She is also autistic. Overstimulation has sent her to bed, exhausted, for a week. A misunderstood social interaction can ruin her mood for months. She will drive miles past a petrol station to find...
Becoming a footballer – and certainly a goalkeeper – was not always the plan for the player who hails from Wrexham and is known around the Wales camp as simply Saf. After a very early dabble with street dancing or any other sport on offer in the local village, Middleton-Patel was eventually “thrown” into football....
Middleton-Patel found herself firmly in the spotlight at the age of just 18 as she made both her club debut on loan at Coventry United and her senior international bow for Wales in the same week in February 2023. But the whirlwind period proved overwhelming for the young shot stopper who sought help after admitting...
