Councilor by day in Pontedeume, football player by night in Silva

Non-professional or semi-professional football is full of cases of players who combine their love for football with studies or work. As you go up in the category, the difficulty becomes even greater. If we add to that that the team they play for is half an hour away from home, we raise the handicap a little more. And finally, if we add holding a public office to the cocktail, the protagonist of this story becomes a rare bird in Galicia. This is Joshua Dopico (Pontedeume, May 10, 1991), who works as a councilor in his hometown during the day and trains at night with Silva’s first team, a group from A Coruña that is a member of the Third Federation.

At the age of 31, the councilor got an opportunity —in Silva, he was elevated to the category of mayor, as Chechu, the sports director, nicknamed him— almost surprised and, although the effort was great, he decided not to waste it.

«Except for a few years, in my youth, when I played for Montañeros and Racing (both in the Division of Honor), my entire sports career was connected with Eume (the team that currently plays in First Galicia). Due to a combination of circumstances at the end of last season, I parted ways with the club of my life and had the opportunity to try out for Silva. It had to go in two categories. Quite a challenge for me. I was on trial for two weeks and the technicians approved my transfer. It was a pleasure, because I had already lost hope of playing in the national team – explains playmaker A Grela.

Although it is not so difficult for him to combine both activities after months and with the organization of his life, Josua understands that it is an extra effort that is rewarded by playing in the Third League.

“It’s complicated, but hey, we organized well. The three of us are going to A Coruña together: my brother-in-law (Álvaro Rey), who is from Cabanas; Isaac González, from Ferrol; me too. And it always gets more enjoyable. Yes of course. Three hours between departure, training and return, no one takes them from you. And there are four training days a week,” he thinks.

Apart from the personal satisfaction of seeing himself at Silva, a club he calls “a big family”, the footballer believes that the mayor benefits from this activity. “I am a councilor for sports, youth and citizens’ participation, and obviously the fact that I have spent my whole life in this world has helped me a lot in solving the everyday issues of the council. And, of course, now that I’m in an even bigger club, well, I see other aspects that I didn’t observe before. I think that with this signature they got a football player and a councilman (series)”.

Politics on the street

Regarding this political aspect, Dopico, who is a representative of the PSOE, separates what this can mean at higher levels, such as big cities, from the way things work in small municipalities. “Everything is much closer here. People stop you on the street and say, ‘Hey Joshua, we have a problem with this facility’ or a grant, I don’t know what, and almost immediately we try to solve it. It’s much better, because the neighbors are achieving faster, but for us, of course, the pressure is increasing”, he jokingly comments on the number of requests he receives every day.

This is how the day of this young mayor goes, who starts work at nine in the morning and does not return home from training until late at night. It counts, yes, with the cooperation of Silva – “some match or training coincides with the performance and, of course, the council is first”, he wants to emphasize – and above all with the illusion that he sees himself in the national football team that he received as a gift. “I can only be grateful,” adds the football player/councilman.

It will be his first and last season in the team.

He is happy and feels like family, but traveling to A Coruña four times a week, plus weekend games with trips around Galicia, is an extra burden that Joshua adds to his work and takes away from those close to him. That’s why he already announces that this is his first and last season in Silva. “I have lived the experience and I am already satisfied. I will leave happy”. provides.