Kas Calls It On Sacramento Success
As a member of the record-breaking 1999 under-13 British 4x100m relay team, Kasali Casal needed to call on all his handover speed this weekend as he made the matchday draw for this year’s Homeless World Cup before an expectant crowd of participants from across the globe.
The green at Sacramento State University was packed with team members – from Australia to home side USA – watching the every move of the former Fulham footballer, now perhaps better known as 'football choreographer’ on award-winning Apple TV+ show, Ted Lasso.
Between smiling for selfies with just about everyone, the London-born left-back enthused about his role as Ambassador for Street Soccer USA and, of course, the new direction in which his sport has taken him.
Having grown up in a rough neighbourhood, Kasali has often said how football was the one thing that took him away from it all and changed his life for the better, mirroring the experiences of many tournament participants over the years.
“I was aware of Homeless World Cup, of the last tournament being in Cardiff in 2019, but I believed more people should know about it and that’s why I wanted to be a part of this, to make sure more light is shone on it,” Kasali enthused. “People need to know about this because it’s a glorious event which should be celebrated more widely.”
Playing a role in this year’s event came about through the alignment of several contacts on either side of the Atlantic, as Kas explains.
“Lisa Wrightsman [founder of Street Soccer USA Sacramento] and I have a mutual friend, in London, who – while we were shooting season 3 of Ted Lasso – came over to the set for a couple of days to watch filming.
“She randomly told me she had a very good friend (Lisa) who was working on the Homeless World Cup event who would love to connect with me. We Zoom-called and it took off from there. As soon as she started telling me about the tournament being in Sacramento, the connection was there, we were on the exact same page, I saw her vision and I knew what she was trying to do.”
Kas’s switch from the world of sport into the glitterball of entertainment also came about through serendipitous circumstances, following a career-ending injury on the pitch.
“I was very lucky,” he continues. “The football and entertainment industries are closely linked as, when you’re playing professional football you work a lot in fashion and so on, making a lot of connections.
“Just as I hung up my boots, someone I’d worked with previously on a different off-field project gave me a call and told me about a soccer show which was starting filming and would I like to get involved? It sounded funny, interesting and I love comedy, so it went from there.”
‘There’ began with Kas working on football techniques with the extras who formed the opposition for fictional AFC Richmond in Season 2, expanding into sharpening up the skills for the starring side in Season 3.
“To be honest,” he adds, “none of us expected the show to do what it’s done. Everyone on Ted Lasso is so grounded, so humble, just really good people. All we wanted was to make the best show we could. The fact that it’s become one of the number one shows in the world is a credit to everyone.”
Though football is the prime sport in the UK and Europe, soccer hasn’t enjoyed the same popularity in the US – arguably, until now.
Kas agrees, “Ted Lasso has raised the profile of soccer massively in the States. People who never used to watch it in the US now love the game because of this show which has brought the sport to a wider audience.”
It’s a show, and an experience, which Kas rates as unique. “Honestly - and I think the rest of the cast would say the same - I don’t think we’ll ever work on this kind of platform again, with that camaraderie, that love. We were like a big family.
“Going on set every day was like being at home with your brothers and sisters. It was so harmonious, and I think the viewers can see that. They’re my family - my Ted Lasso family - now.”
As Kas will be in residence by the pitches at the Hornet Stadium every day this week, will his TL family be paying a visit?
“I’ve been on the phone to several of them,” he assures, “encouraging them to come to the event and they want to visit; however a lot of them are filming elsewhere at the moment – but they’re sending videos that we’ll post on social media to wish all the participants good luck.”
And the burning question – will any vibes of Homeless World Cup make it on to Season 4 of Ted Lasso? Because, surely, there will be a Season 4!
“Ah, the question everybody asks – will there be another season. At the moment, no… but you never know!”
By Isobel Irvine
Photo by Anita Milas