In June 2021, Kieran Lloyd signed his first professional contract with Wigan Athletic, but it wasn’t an easy journey to get there. He started playing grassroots football at age 5 and by age 8, he had signed with Liverpool on a 2-year contract, eventually staying on with the club until the age of 16. Unfortunately, an injury led to the Club being unable to re-sign him and he was then offered a scholar from Wigan Athletic, which led to a 2-year professional contract.

“The day I signed my professional contract was one of the best days of my life. It was all I've dreamed of being professional footballer, and especially at a club like Wigan Athletic. This is all I’ve worked for but it’s only just the start. I've done so well to get here. Now I need to push on again, otherwise it's all going to be worth nothing. I need to work even harder to stay there.”

At just 20 years old, Kieran’s making a name for himself, showing his leadership and maturity as a player and as captain of the U21 team.

“I've always been a leader, with my voice and how I am within the team. It was a proud moment when asked to be the captain of the team because I have the job to lead the team each week. I want to set a good example for the other lads and continue to work hard, I just want to be able to say I’ve done everything to become the best player I can be and set that example for others.”

Even with what he’s accomplished at Wigan, Kieran knows a footballer’s future is never certain. Kieran’s professional contract is up at the end of this season and he’s trying to figure out what’s next.

“I still want to be professional football for as long as I can, but football is unpredictable, you never know if you will have a 15-year career or a 2-year career. All anyone knows is you can be training one day, and you have an injury and that's the last time you play football, no one ever knows.”

That’s why, along with the encouragement of his parents, Kieran’s decided to combine playing professional football with studying for his BSc (Hons) in Applied Football Studies developed by Ahead In Sport to prepare for his life after football.

“As soon as I signed my professional contract, I spoke with my parents and my agents. I thought if all this doesn't go as planned and football doesn't work out, I at least have something to fall back on. In Academies such as Liverpool and Wigan, we are advised to prepare ourselves if football doesn’t work out and this was something I wanted to take seriously and plan for.”

“There are footballers that are doing similar things, but how many footballers are doing a degree at my age like this? I hope it helps people around me realise that I'm not only focussing on football, but I’m also considering my future and get my life on a straight line for all eventualities.”