Birmingham City forward Wilma Leidhammar on swapping Halmstad’s beaches for the West Midlands, why the rain feels like home and her love of Indian food.
“It’sthebestleagueintheworldandit’ssuchabigcountrythatlovesitsfootball.”Wilma Leidhammar
Wilma Leidhammar scored the goal that gave Birmingham City their first league win of the season. Ahead of Sunday’s Second City derby against Aston Villa at Villa Park, the Swedish forward talks rain, Swedish coffee and the beaches she misses back home.
I'm from the west coast of Sweden, a small town called Halmstad. It's in between Gothenburg and Malmo. It’s a really lovely city by the beach, so I basically grew up on the beach. I miss it. All my family and friends still live there, as it's such a nice place to be. I actually went home for a bit in the summer and had a couple of nice days off with the family. Those few days were important for me, as I'm a huge family person.
It's always been a dream of mine to play in England. It's the best league in the world and it’s such a big country that loves its football. So, when the opportunity came up with Birmingham, I just couldn't say no. I miss the beach, of course, but apart from that, I'm really enjoying my time here.
I've been in England for close to a year after joining the club in January. Settling in can be challenging, particularly at the start when everything is new. You get an apartment and a car before everything just kind of then settles down. I lived in a hotel for a while, so I'm really happy that period is over. Living in a hotel can be quite hard. It might sound good, but it's challenging. You can’t cook your own food and stuff like that. Now, I can just focus on being here, enjoying my time and being able to play football. Once you’re settled and you know you’re part of the squad and playing games, it makes a big difference, so now I’m really happy.
For the first few months in England, it rained every day for like four months! I really enjoyed the rain, it's quite similar to Sweden in that sense. And then of course it was really hot all summer. My teammate Martha Harris was really helpful to me when I first moved to England. She really helped me to just feel welcomed, and helped me with everything on and off the pitch, so I think she's a true leader and someone that is really important for the team.
I always bring coffee back with me after I’ve been home. I don’t think it’s as common here to have coffee machines at home, but I need mine… and it’s just comforting to have. I like a certain type of coffee too, so I always make sure to bring that back with me from home. I should maybe try to introduce more of my teammates to it.
One thing I’ve really enjoyed since I’ve been here is the Indian food, it’s really good. I don’t have it a lot because I need to watch what I eat obviously, but I would say it’s much better here than at home.
My parents think I’ve changed so much since living abroad, but I’m not sure. When I speak to my parents, they think I've grown a lot since moving to England. It’s not something I feel, but they feel it, and hopefully it's in a good way!
If you were to come back to Sweden with me, I would take you to the beach. Maybe not in winter, though…. during the winter, Halmstad is not such a good city to be in. So, it depends what time of year you visit. In winter, you should go to Gothenburg. We have long dark winters in Sweden, much darker than in England. You don’t see much of the sun or daylight! It's light for around two hours in the day, so if you’re at school or work indoors you don’t see much of it. It’s hard, but you just get used to it.
I think the nearest beach to me here in Birmingham is maybe Weston Super Mare or north Wales? I’ve heard Bath is nice. It doesn’t have a beach, but I’m told it’s a lovely city with its Roman Baths. Scotland is supposed to be beautiful too. My cousin used to live in London and she visited Scotland, and so recommended I head up there at some point. Maybe one day I’ll jump in the car and explore a bit more.
