Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Non-League, England
Josh Lawless
One of football's ultimate journeymen has finally retired after a total of 51 transfers in career spanning 28 years.
Jefferson Louis made his debut with Risborough Rangers in 1996 when he was just 17 and that was the beginning of a quite incredible stint in the game, primarily spent in the lower echelons of English football.
Louis, who sent six months in prison for dangerous driving and useds the experience to motivate young people on how they can change, went on to play for the likes of Oxford United, Bristol Rovers, Wrexham, Crawley Town, Lincoln City, Newport County and many more.
He had another stint with Rangers in 2022 but had four different spells with Thame United, who were his very last club.
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Louis, capped once by Dominica in a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Barbados, announced his retirement with a short statement on his social media page.
The 46-year-old wrote: "A young boy that had a dream, and I lived it, but it’s now time to call it a day! To go to the age of 46 is something I’m hugely proud of. Massive thanks to my former managers, teammates and fans that have supported me throughout. Now to give back to the next generation."
A boyhood Arsenal supporter who achieved his dream by playing at Highbury in a FA Cup third round tie in 2003 with Oxford, Louis has taken up a role as assistant first-team coach at Slough Town - another of his former clubs.
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He played five times between 2022 and 2023 and also worked as a performance coach.
"The boots are staying in the closet, I won't play again," Louis told the BBC after his announcement.
"Aside from showing the guys on the pitch what to do in training I'm going to take a rest from playing."
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Returning under manager Scott Davies, the club said Louis will "primarily focus on working with the club’s strikers, offering specialist coaching and guidance, while also taking on a valuable mentoring role for the younger players within the squad".
Louis' position aligns with the work he does at a children referral unit, helping kids who have been excluded from schools find their way in life and live out their potential.