A semi-professional footballer is ready to bring the beautiful game to young people in his community when he heads up his own football franchise.
Stowmarket Town player Tevan Allen, from Chantry, is looking to become head coach of his own Football Fun Factory after completing the Kickstart programme with the company.
The 24-year-old explained that during the lockdown he struggled to find work that he found fulfilling and turned to universal credit for help.
It was then that he found the six-month government-funded Kickstart programme which allowed him to learn on the job whilst still earning a wage.
He said: “I struggle to work in something that I’m forcing myself to do so I think universal credit had a massive part to play in that.
“They [the Kickstart Scheme] listened to me and they understood what I wanted to do.
“I told them that there are certain things in life that are going to make me happy and working with kids is one of those. They helped me find that opportunity."
Within two months of the programme, Tevan had already been asked to stay on within the company and was even encouraged to set up his own franchise - which is exactly what he plans to do.
Freya Louis, one of the head coaches at Football Fun Factory said it was clear from the get-go that Tevan had what it takes to be a head coach.
She said: “His professionalism and enthusiasm shined from our first session together; he made the extra effort to talk and get to know each child, created new and exciting ways to keep them engaged, and always made sure they went home smiling!
“I'm incredibly proud of Tevan and his decision to become a head coach. Children in our area deserve the right to just play football and I'm delighted that more children in Ipswich will now experience this with Tevan,” she added.
Tevan hopes to open his Football Fun Factory franchise on November 8 and will coach children in Chantry, Gainsborough and Northgate.
He wants to be at the centre of his community, making a difference to local children while ensuring that football is always fun.
“It gets children out of situations that they don’t need to be in and gets them out of any kind of trouble.
“The future is bright - there’s so many places I can take it."
For more information on Football Fun Factory see here.
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