They clink it’s all over
Lags get football coaching
FOOTBALL-MAD prisoners are being trained to become the next Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola.
The new go-straight scheme sees coaches from professional clubs going in to jails to seek out fresh talent.
As part of the course, would-be gaffers are put through their paces on tactics, team talks and life in the dugout.
But a source said: “Given some of the back stories of most of these guys, I can’t see a queue of clubs looking to let them loose with a set of cones.”
The sessions are being run by League Two Walsall FC at HMP Featherstone, which is home to more than 40 lifers.
The course has already won praise from prison watchdog, the Independent Monitoring Board. It said: “Towards the end of the reporting period, the Football
Association/Prison Service initiative with Walsall FC commenced.
“This will give those participating prisoners an FA accredited qualification in football coaching, as well as enhancing their life/pro-social skills and provide support on release from prison.”
The course is believed to have been brought in to replace a successful football team at the jail, which dropped out of a league in 2015.
Featherstone Prison FC, which was based at the jail near Wolverhampton,
Staffs, won the Division Two title in the Staffordshire County Senior League in 2014. The team – which played all its games at home – pulled out of the league in 2015 after Featherstone became a resettlement prison, meaning inmates were often being released.
The watchdog’s inspection report also revealed the jail cracked down on prison-made hooch during Euro 2020 last year.
In 2016, it was revealed England legend Stuart Pearce was helping train a team of prisoners at HMP Dovegate in Staffs.
The former Man City defender, nicknamed Psycho, showed lags at the Serco-run jail a string of tricks.