Ireal Born-Wyze Daly (Class of 2027) at Howard University has a passion for football and sports medicine. Starting at six years old, Wyze-Daly trained competitively throughout America, Trinidad, Germany, and Canada with plans on joining a professional league in the future. When discussing his fondness for the sport, he states, “Football inspires me every day to keep moving forward with my life. It encourages me to become better at it; football allows me to dream.” He finds his escape in the sport, saying that he’s at his happiest when he’s playing on the field. He is most motivated by his mother, who is his biggest inspiration to succeed.

Wyze-Daly first started playing the sport in Canada, joining his first football team in Mount Hamilton. He moved onto more competitive teams in Trinidad and Tobago, attending prestigious institutions such as Bishops High Tobago and Naparima College. During his training in a professional goalkeeper academy, he was able to meet Clayton Ince, who’s most known for playing in the Trinidad 2006 World Cup. Wyze-Daly states, “At the end of one of our sessions, he went up to my mom and said, ‘This kid can be something special, you know?’” From then on, Wyze-Daly became an apprentice to Ince, and received special goalkeeping training as a result. After a few years, he received training from Former Naparima Goalkeeper Rodwell Renwick, another well-known Trinidad goalkeeper. In 2022, Wyze-Daly was recruited to Deportivo FC, his first professional team, where he received the “man of the match” in his debut.

When asked about a special moment he had while playing the sport, Wyze-Daly smiled. He started his story with one competitive game he played. “Basically, it was raining that day in the yard. This was one of my first seasons as a football player.” Wyze-Daly told me. “The opposing team scored three or four goals within five minutes, and my team was losing horribly. All of the parents who were watching us play were laughing and teasing us, and their children were poking fun at us. I felt really embarrassed.”

“The game was later canceled because of thunder and lightning coming in. When the coach called us in for a huddle, he fired us up. ‘We’re gonna do this; we’re gonna come back and we’re gonna beat this team.’ His words gave us a lot of motivation. And so the next day, we beat them. The spectators weren’t making fun of us anymore; I performed my best in that game. I love competition—I was always overly competitive growing up. So that game awakened my football nature to just win. ”

When Ireal Wyze-Daly isn't on the field chasing his passion, he serves his role as the head of graphic design for several sports teams at Howard, including the softball team, the tennis team, the women’s basketball team, and the men and women’s soccer team. He was also selected for the Disney on the Yard Internship, a program affiliated with the Walt Disney Company that provides a variety of mentorship and career growth opportunities. Although the goalkeeper has earned multiple achievements throughout his life, he states that his biggest accomplishment was getting into Howard University with an athletic and academic scholarship.

In the future, Wyze-Daly sees himself as becoming the best goalkeeper of all time. He aims to get into humanitarian and animal conservation work as well as develop football in Trinidad and Tobego through coaching and donating resources to teams. When asked about any advice he’d like to give to aspiring athletes, Wyze-Daly thought hard. “I would say to keep moving forward and to always work hard in training. You may suffer now, but you can get to live the rest of your life as a champion. Just remember: you are your own best friend and your own worst enemy”

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