From the tragedy of losing his son to persevering through his failures as a player, Troy Townsend opens up about his storied career in football in an exclusive Urban Pitch interview.
Turning pro isn't in the cards for most young footballers, but that doesn't mean that they can't have a career in the sport altogether.
Troy Townsend is a gleaming example of one such case. He's worn many hats across his six decades in the sport, from coach, to pundit, to advocate, and in 2024, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his work with Kick It Out to help end racism in football.
Townsend was obsessed with football from an early age, yet despite playing for the Crystal Palace and Millwall academies, breaking through to a senior team wasn't in his tea leaves.
He'd make the jump to coaching, earning his badge at 19 and working with the university teams at Middlesex University and youth side Redwood FC, as well as launching Ultimate Sports alongside Steve Browne, which focused on providing physical education teachers and after-school programs to East London schools.
#university
Turning pro isn't in the cards for most young footballers, but that doesn't mean that they can't have a career in the sport altogether.
Troy Townsend is a gleaming example of one such case. He's worn many hats across his six decades in the sport, from coach, to pundit, to advocate, and in 2024, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his work with Kick It Out to help end racism in football.
Townsend was obsessed with football from an early age, yet despite playing for the Crystal Palace and Millwall academies, breaking through to a senior team wasn't in his tea leaves.
He'd make the jump to coaching, earning his badge at 19 and working with the university teams at Middlesex University and youth side Redwood FC, as well as launching Ultimate Sports alongside Steve Browne, which focused on providing physical education teachers and after-school programs to East London schools.
#university
3 days ago
