The last four months have been a whirlwind for Love Island sensation Harry Cooksley, who has turned his immediate attention back to football as he prepares for a huge FA Cup game this weekend
Love Island star Harry Cooksley is dreaming of an FA Cup giant-killing in the “biggest game of his career” on Saturday. The 30-year-old starred on the reality TV show in the summer, reaching the final and finishing second in a couple with Shakira Khan.
However, despite gaining a number of other work opportunities and living a hectic life since leaving the villa at the start of August, one of his main priorities was to return to football as soon as possible. It’s something that, after more than a month, he achieved.
Cooksley made his return to non-league Farnham Town, who play in the Southern Premier League South – the seventh-tier, in an FA Cup tie on Saturday, September 13. He has since made six appearances for Farnham, scoring twice and grabbing a couple of assists.
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This weekend, Cooksley, nicknamed the ‘Surrey Zidane’, has set his sights on causing a huge shock in another FA Cup blockbuster when Farnham go up against National League side Sutton United. 30 places separate the two teams in the English football pyramid.
Looking ahead to the game, which is live in front of the BBC cameras, Cooksley told Mirror Football: “I think for me and the rest of the boys it’s probably one of the biggest games of our entire careers.
“It’s massive for the town, it’s massive for the club, everyone involved in the club, so I can’t wait, I can’t wait.”
Farnham have won three matches to reach this stage of the FA Cup. They beat Erith Town in the first qualifying round before earning victories against Burgess Hill Town and Dorchester Town.
Reflecting on Farnham’s cup run as a whole, Cooksley added: “I mean the only game I played in was the last round and that was my first start back from missing pre-season. I got 70 minutes under the belt, so I’ve been watching the boys, they have been churning out results and ticking them off.
“So, it’s been a great run, even though we’ve come in later this year. Even up until this point, I think we’ve had some great wins along the way.”
Cooksley, who has Aldershot Town, AFC Wimbledon and Mallorca among his former clubs, was desperate to get back on the pitch and help his teammates after finishing Love Island.
“It’s all I’ve known since I was knee high and it’s been a huge part of my life,” Cooksley said. “I think it adds, it’s always added like balance to my life, it’s always given me that release and the enjoyment and the competition.
“I think it was, you know, one of my main priorities coming out of Love Island was how quickly can I get fit and get back playing. The commitment is twice a week and I’ve got so much going on after the show but I need to be able to commit to a Wednesday night and a Saturday afternoon because, like I say, it’s complete enjoyment for me.
“You just switch off, you don’t think about anything else, it’s the competition, being around the boys is literally my happy place, has been for all my life.”
Life off the pitch has been chaotic but memorable for Cooksley after he and Shakira finished runners-up and caught the eye of the entire nation on Love Island. They are still moving in the right direction, albeit not yet official, after coupling up in the villa and leaving the show together.
Cooksley has often been spotted up in Shakira’s hometown Burnley, while she has come down south to see him as the pair continue to blossom.
Meanwhile, the Guildford-born star has a number of other responsibilities – including sponsorship work and TV opportunities – after giving up his previous day job which was a gold trader.
“Life since the villa has been a whirlwind in the best possible way,” Cooksley admitted. “I think it’s just been… I had an idea of what it would be like if I went on and was on there for a long time and kind of had, you know, a decent amount of screen time and did alright. But it’s completely 10 times to what it was, I guess, not so much prepared for.
“I don’t think you can prepare for it. It’s just zero to 100. There’s no sort of building into every single person, everyone recognising you and everyone having an opinion on you and your relationship and everything.
“But I think I’ve got great people, I’ve got a great team, I’ve got great friends, I’ve got family around me, and they keep me honest. They keep me grounded.
“But honestly, I absolutely love it. I’m really genuinely enjoying it. It’s so new to me, this life. I’m working hard and I don’t feel like I’ve ever worked in my life. I want this to be my career.
“I take it extremely seriously with obviously coming back to football, but everything I’m doing away from football after leaving the villa, that is my career. I want there to be longevity in that. And I think if you do it right, there’s no reason that it can’t be my life for the rest of my life.”
In the future, Cooksley is hoping to become a sports presenter while balancing life as a semi-professional footballer. Cooksley, who turns 31 in November, does not have any plans to hang up his boots just yet.
“I think that is where I want to go with my career, it’s the presenting of sports,” Cooksley added. “It’s being involved in sports and not, you know, in terms of what a lot of people do after leaving Love Island and kind of influencing and doing this and that. That does come with it.
“But for me, sports and football is where my passion is. I don’t know who I’d be or where I’d be without having football and sports growing up. So that’s the field I want to stay in. I’m not looking to hang up the boots and retire within this season, the next season. I’m just taking it a season at a time.
“My main goal is to be involved in football in presenting, capacity, analysis, something along those lines and obviously keep playing until my body gives up on me.”
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