I used to eat snakes and hunt birds to live, now I’m chasing FA Cup glory with non-league minnows

GEORGE ELOKOBI used to eat snakes, hunt birds and scavenge trash cans to put food in his belly.

So the once-hungry kid from the Cameroonian town of Kumba is not daunted by managing National League South Maidstone against a League Two Barrow side 46 places above them in the pyramid.

Elokobi, 37, is no stranger to beating the odds as his incredible journey took him to becoming a Premier League star at Wolves — and in recently appearing in hit TV comedy Ted Lasso alongside Pep Guardiola.

The Molineux cult hero spent six years at the club and famously scored in a 2-1 win against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United to end their 29-game run without a league loss in 2011 as they romped to the title.

He told SunSport: “Life was tough as a kid. My dad died when I was 10 of diabetes. He was my role model.

“I sometimes had to go without meals. I was having to eat out of trash cans. I was a scavenger. 

“Also I hunted birds. I’d either use a catapult or set traps. I also had to catch and eat snakes or digest raw potatoes taken from the ground without even washing them.

“I had to make do with anything I could put in my stomach.

“Sometimes we had no electricity for weeks and had to read with candlelight.

“It was a life without having real running water, where we had to walk miles to fetch water, then miles back.” 

Elokobi and his friends even played football without a proper ball because they could not afford one — having to make do with kicking carrier bags wrapped around each other or plastic bottles while in bare feet.

He said: “We played on the streets, in the backyard, on concrete. We even played on a pitch the local brewery owned.

“There was broken glass everywhere and, because we were in bare feet, we’d get lots of cuts. We just had to crack on with it.

I hunted birds. I’d either use a catapult or set traps. I also had to catch and eat snakes or digest raw potatoes taken from the ground without even washing them.”

George Elokobi

“All of these things are something I’m not ashamed about because it made me the person I am today. It taught me determination and bravery.”

After the death of his dad, Martin, his mum Irene left Elokobi and his 12 older siblings in Cameroon as she sought work in the UK to help better support her family.

And after six years she managed to get Elokobi a visa to study in the UK — which proved a pivotal moment.

He joined the Dulwich Hamlet youth system but aged 18 was spotted by Colchester scouts and got signed after a trial by now Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson.

Then after four years with the U’s Elokobi got a huge break when Mick McCarthy signed him for Wolves in 2008 for £500,000 — and despite suffering a serious knee ligament injury that kept him out for most of the 2008-09 season got promoted to the top flight with the club.

Elokobi said: “It’s something I was so proud of because until I moved to England aged 16, I had not received any coaching. In Cameroon I didn’t have access to that.

“I owe my whole football career to my mum because she got me over here and has been my rock.

“As a youngster, I was a rough diamond and made up for any limitations in my ability with sheer hard work when I came to England.

“From the moment I joined Colchester to the day I moved to Wolves I didn’t take a single day off. I spent every day improving myself.”

Elokobi ended up making 103 outings for Wolves before moving on to Bristol City, Oldham, back to Colchester, Braintree, Leyton Orient and Aldershot before hanging up his boots with Maidstone.

During his career he won promotion FOUR times and despite being a defender has scored in every single division from National League South to the Premier League.

Also he played for Cameroon and when appointed Maidstone boss in March became the first person from the West African state to ever manage an English side.

And earlier this year he played as a Manchester City player with Jay Bothroyd in Ted Lasso with Pep Guardiola managing the team at the Etihad against fictional team Richmond FC.

Elokobi said: “It was a fantastic opportunity to be part of that episode.

“I hadn’t taken over as Maidstone manager yet so had a bit of time for such projects — and it was great to not only be part of the cast but see how it all works in the filming industry.

“And of course it was an honour to be part of that scene with Pep and Manchester City — and spending a day filming at the Etihad. 

“Ted Lasso is a great show. I love that it paints a picture of a manager mucking about with football who becomes a master at the end. 

“In a lot of ways, it paints something that can happen for real. Anything is possible.”

And does that extend to Maidstone beating Barrow and progressing to the third-round for the first time since the club was reformed in 1992?

Elokobi said: “Of course. We’re going to give it our best shot. We know Barrow are a good side but no-one should write anyone off.

“As you can see from my own journey, write me off at your peril.”