How I paved the way for Becks! (From Preston and Leyland Citizen)

How I paved the way for Becks!

12:22pm Thursday 26th July 2007

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David Beckham may be getting the celebrity treatment in Los Angeles after his multi-million dollar deal to play for LA Galaxy.

But Becks may owe some thanks to a Preston man who played a part in helping soccer take off in America in the 1960s.

According to Geoff Gradwell, teams like LA Galaxy would not have existed if it had not been for him and other young expats in America in the late 1960s.

Geoff, now 64, moved to Torrance, Los Angeles, with his parents in 1967 after his father Arthur got a job in the aircraft industry, along with many other men from the UK at that time.

As the British ex-pat community grew, so interest in football or soccer as it's known in the US, began to take off.

In 1964, a group of them formed the American Youth Soccer Organisation (AYSO) with just nine teams.

The AYSO grew and now provides soccer development for children all over the USA with more than 50,000 teams and 650,000 players.

Geoff, who now lives in Lea, said: "Some of the men who worked in the area were having a barbecue and a few drinks in the garage one time, when they thought it would be a good idea to start a couple of football teams for their youngsters to play in.

"The general idea was, hell why not let the Yanks play too, let's get a few teams together and so the AYSO was formed."

Geoff was enlisted to play for one of the original AYSO teams, The Panthers in 1967.

Geoff, of Lea, added: "I guess I was a cross between Colin Bell, George Best and Rodney Marsh with a bit of Roy Keane to boot and Beckham too!"

"From those early days of helping to instigate soccer in LA, creating the interest in the generations whose sons, daughters, grandson and granddaughters are now supporting LA Galaxy and Mr Beckham, in some small way, you could say I paved the way for him!"

Geoff went on to captain the South Bay-Sierra Madre All Stars in 1968, and even led the California State Side in 1969.

In 1970 though Geoff's soccer career ended when his family returned to the UK. He went on to study graphic design and now runs a corporate design company in Preston.

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