Football features

FORMER Nike shop assistant Jordan Dawson is coining it in by selling his unique designs to footballers.The 27-year-old Chelsea fan can counts Declan Rice, Tariq Lamptey, Adama Traore and even Romeo Beckham as clients with his handcrafted artwork on footwear, including football boots and trainers.
Dawson quit his day job as a shop assistant at Nike to design trainers and bootsCredit: Jordan Dawson
Designer Jordan Dawson customises trainers and football boots for stars, including Brazil legend KakaCredit: Jordan Dawson
Declan Rice shows off a pair Dawson designed for himCredit: Jordan Dawson
And they pay up to £2,500 for a pair of the customised cleats to wear during Premier League games and for training.
“I customised trainers – working with Adidas, Nike and Puma for about five years,” Dawson told SunSport.
“I got invited to the launch of FIFA 20 by EA Sports, and I had my own booth there where I customised shoes for Kaka and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
“I got approached by someone at BBC Sport who asked me if I’d ever thought about customising boots.
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“I hadn’t, but it gave me the idea to offer that service to the players.”
The first to jump on the trend was West Ham and England star Declan Rice.
“The first pair I made for a footballer was for Declan,” Dawson continued.
“It really snowballed after he shared it on Instagram, and I got more clients.
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“Lucas Digne, who was at Everton at the time, got in touch and asked for me to make some for him.
“Adebayo Akinfenwa, who was at the FIFA event, also wanted a pair which have ‘Beast Mode’ on them.
“I’ve been doing that since 2021, and was able to quit my day job to focus solely on that.”
Dawson revealed how he scouts for business – using Instagram to reach out to the pros and show them his ideas.
“If I approach a footballer, I just message them, introduce myself, and see if they are interested.
“If they are, then put together a mock-up design and they will often come back to me with what they like and don’t like.
“With Declan we spoke at the FIFA event, I chased him up on Instagram, and he got back to me with his number.
A pair Dawson was commissioned to make by Adebayo AkinfenwaCredit: Jordan Dawson
Lucas Digne wanted the names of his children on his customised bootsCredit: Jordan Dawson
Romeo Beckham admires Dawson’s handy workCredit: Jordan Dawson
“We spoke and he just said he wanted something with England on them, as well as his nickname ‘Deccers’.
“He loved the mock-up, but he was hands-on with the design, saying he wanted things moved around.
“He’s a really nice guy. We didn’t just have a work-based conversation, he asked what I was doing today. He’s so down-to-earth.”
With his clientele being sports stars who earn tens of thousands of pounds, and Jordan needing to make a livelihood, he can charge up to £2,500 for his designs, which take him around two days to create.
He said: “It depends on the design (how much they cost).
“Sometimes I do things for charity, like a did a pair for Usain Bolt that he wore for Soccer Aid.
“I told him I didn’t want any money for them, and if he wanted to sell them and donate the money to charity that would work.
“Obviously this is my living, so I have to charge for it.
“If there’s some exposure involved, that helps too. The most I’ve received for a pair of boots is £2,500.”
Players have to ask for permission from their boot sponsors if they’re allowed to wear the custom designed boots during games.
While others tend to use them training with their teams, or to put on their shelves.
Usain Bolt had a pair designed for charity when he played in Soccer AidCredit: Jordan Dawson
Footballers like Ollie Watkins can expect to pay up to £2,500 for the designsCredit: Jordan Dawson
Dwight McNeil’s love of Marvel reflects in his boot designCredit: Jordan Dawson
Dawson admitted he gets a buzz out of seeing his creations on the pitchCredit: Jordan Dawson
Jordan admitted when he sees players wearing them in games, it gives him a huge buzz.
“It’s a dream come true. I grew up living with football. And I always had a love for art and football.
“Seeing footballers wear them on the pitch is just incredible. Seeing them score goals, or assist, nothing can beat that feeling.”
Jordan Dawson’s customised boots can be seen on his Instagram and website. More

CRYSTAL PALACE sensation Marc Guehi has been called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad, after some impressive performances for the Eagles.The 21-year-old centre back, who was signed from Chelsea for £20million, could make his Three Lions debut with friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast to come.
Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi has been called up to Gareth Southgate’s England teamCredit: Getty
It’s perhaps fitting that his international bow might come against the Ivory Coast, where his family left when he was just 12 months old in search of a better life.
The Guehis settled in Lewisham, South London where Marc’s father worked as a minister in a local church.
As a youngster, he would join his dad on a Sunday morning at service and play the drums.
But football would soon take over his life when he was six years old.
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Education came first
Like team-mate Wilfried Zaha and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, Guehi was born in Abidjan, called the ‘Paris of Africa’.
One of four children, his family secured visas for the UK and moved to South London, now where their son is making great strides with his career.
Although he got his enjoyment from football, religion and education mattered most in his household.
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Football “made it to the front (of the queue) as I got older,” Guehi revealed.
At six he started playing for local side Cray Wanderers, where his coach was a Chelsea scout.
He joined the Blues at U8 level and worked his way up the age groups – playing in his favoured centre back position.
But, school came first.
“Football wasn’t something that was pursued as a family,” he revealed in an interview on Swansea City’s website, where he enjoyed two successful seasons on loan .
“It wasn’t the main goal, it was more something for me to do and enjoy as a kid. Education was front of the queue, but football made its way to the front as I got older.
“I started at Cray Wanderers at the age of six and the coach there was a scout for Chelsea.
“He took me to Chelsea and I’ve gone through the different age groups ever since.
“I remember people from Chelsea coming to my house to reassure my parents that everything would be okay and it would be enjoyable for me.
“Even at that point, I didn’t get carried away with it. I just enjoyed playing football and thought nothing more of it.
“It wasn’t until I got to about 15 where I thought ‘you know what, there is an opportunity here to make a living out of this.'”
As a youth star Guehi won a treble and quadruple with Chelsea’s U18 sideCredit: Action Images
Game time in the Chelsea first team was limited for GuehiCredit: Rex Features
Watching the best
Guehi continued to blossom in his teens at the back, showing a maturity beyond his years.
He watched Chelsea captain and born leader John Terry, and took inspiration.
He said: “John was someone who I did really pay attention to, because he was a very decorated player, captained England and Chelsea and someone who had an amazing career.
“He’s a player who I’ve always looked up to as a young defender and definitely someone I’ve looked to try and model my game around.”
2017 proved to be a pivotal year in Guehi’s development, when he proved to be a serial winner.
With the Blues, he lifted an incredible treble with the U18s.
Then, he captained England’s U17 team who reached the final of the European Championships but fell to defeat to Spain.
Five months later, he would get his revenge against the Spaniards in the U17s World Cup final – scoring in a 5-2 rout.
A natural leader like idol John Terry, Guehi captained England’s U17Credit: PA
Guehi celebrates winning the U17 World Cup with team-mates Rhian Brewster, George McEarchran, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Conor GallagherCredit: Getty – Contributor
Finding himself at Swansea
Guehi would play for Chelsea just twice – in League Cup ties against Grimsby and Manchester United, before moving to Wales for valuable first team experience.
His first spell from January, which saw him reunite with Steve Cooper who got the best out of him for England’s U17s, was so impressive the Swans pleaded with the Premier League giants for another.
His commanding displays helped the Welsh club earn clean sheets against Preston North End, Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers in the opening three games of the 2020-21 Championship campaign.
They would go on to keep a further 14 clean sheets in the league and finish fourth, before losing 2-0 to Brentford in the playoff final.
With his spell over on the south coast of Wales, he returned to Chelsea… but not for long.
Flying high
Leaving Stamford Bridge might have been a wrench for some.
But Guehi was happy to finalise a move to Selhurst Park – under the stewardship of a man with a new vision for the club, Patrick Vieira.
And he has grown game-by-game alongside Joachim Andersen – with the pair forming a strong partnership at the back.
More importantly, he has still been keeping the faith.
Valuable first team football at Swansea gave Guehi a platform to build onCredit: Getty
Guehi has formed a solid partnership with Joachim Anderson in the Eagles backlineCredit: Reuters
Under boss Patrick Vieira, Guehi has flourished at Selhurst ParkCredit: Getty
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“I’ve grown up loving God and when I have had the chance I still go to church with my family, and my faith is definitely a big part of my life,” he said.
“Faith is everything that I’m involved with, really; even in football, where I’m trying to be a role model and show God’s graciousness and God’s glory through my life.” More