From Prison to the Premiership

This is my world, of growing up in the roughest parts of South London, where it pays to be quick-witted, handy with your fists and brave enough to use a tool if you have to. In From Prison to the Premiership , Jamie Lawrence has one hell of a story to tell. Though a talented schoolboy footballer heading for a career with a top team, the combination of his parents returning to Jamaica and frustration at not getting the breaks with a pro club led him into crime. Trying to do the right thing in poorly paid jobs and living with his sister who was also struggling financially was not enough, and things went progressively downhill leading to a spell in youth custody and then prison. Incarceration proved to be his salvation. Whilst playing in an inter-prison match, Lawrence’s talent was spotted and soon after release from a four-year stretch, he was playing for Sunderland and attracting plaudits. Winning over the many sceptics, he played at the highest level for Leicester and Bradford against the world’s best and was even a regular in the Jamaican national side, featuring in a match against world champions Brazil. No other rise from obscurity to celebrity sportsman can compare. His story will inspire everyone who still has unfulfilled ambitions.