Former Reggae Boy Ricardo Fuller has returned to his old stomping ground at Stoke City to complete his coaching education at the English club.
The 42-year-old Fuller returned to the club as part of the Professional Player to Coach scheme, an initiative administered by the Premier League, EFL, and Professional Footballers’ Association.
The aim is to increase the presence of minority coaches in British football, a sore reality for many years.
The former Camperdown High School Manning Cupper and Tivoli Gardens Premier League player is slated to work with all age groups at the club’s youth academy, that is, from nine to 21.
Fuller, who achieved just over 70 caps for the Reggae Boyz, where he scored nine goals, was said to have impressed on his final UEFA B coaching license presentation and was recommended by the Professional Footballers’ Association for the scheme.
And he didn’t disappoint, according to Academy director Gareth Owen, who stated: “Ricardo was one of a host of applicants for the role and he proved to be the strongest candidate after a thorough interview process.
“As a player he wrote his name in the folklore of the club but he is now entering the next stage of his career in the game as a coach and we are delighted to have him on board with us.”
Fuller is elated that the England FA is trying to address the imbalance in coaching opportunities for minorities in Britain and he’s even more delighted to have been recommended and since accepted by Stoke City, for whom he represented 183 times between 2006 and 2012, culminating with 43 goals.
“They knew of me completing the B and they’ve always wanted me to work with the club after my playing career, so they asked me to apply. I did, then I did an interview,” Fuller reported to a Jamaican media outlet.
Eventually, the wily former striker is extremely ambitious and wants to take his coaching abilities the very top.
“I aim to achieve a standard ex excellence for every individual I work with, and teams. My long-term goal is to be the best manager that I can be – to learn from the best and to be the best. I want to coach locally first, meaning my club Stoke City, one day, and clubs in the English Premier League and across Europe. My ultimate goal is to come back and help Jamaica qualify for every single World Cup,” he noted.
He joins ex-players and teammates Rory Delap, Danny Pugh, Liam Lawrence, Carl Dickinson, and Mama Sidibe who are all working with various age groups at the organization.
