Emile Heskey

Leicester City

Heskey was a keen footballer in his childhood and played for Ratby Groby Juniors, a local youth team in Leicester. He stood out amongst his peers and at the age of nine accepted a place at Leicester City's football academy. Progressing through their youth system, he made his first-team debut at the age of 17 while still a first-year trainee in a Premier League match against Queens Park Rangers on 8 March 1995. Leicester were relegated to the First Division following the end of the 1994–95 season and he signed his first professional contract with the club on 3 October 1995. He became a first-team regular in the 1995–96 season, making 30 league appearances. During this season, Heskey scored his first goal, which came in a 1–0 victory over Norwich City, in a season he managed to score seven goals. He helped Leicester earn promotion back to the Premier League, starting in the 1996 First Division play-off final on 27 May as they beat Crystal Palace 2–1. During the 1996–97 season, his first in the Premier League, Heskey scored 10 goals in 35 appearances, and scored the equaliser in the 1997 League Cup Final against Middlesbrough, which Leicester won in a replay. Heskey was runner-up to David Beckham for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. The following season saw interest from Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur for Heskey, as he again scored 10 Premier League goals, making him Leicester's top scorer that season. However, the 1998–99 season saw Heskey…

Heskey joined Cheshire League One club Egerton in 2017 as a coach, alongside Jlloyd Samuel, Jim Cherneski and Dean Gorré. In May 2020 Heskey revealed that he was on a UEFA Management course and was looking to take up an internship with Leicester City's women's team as part of it. In September, he was appointed to an ambassadorial and mentoring role with Leicester City Women as they worked towards professional status, and tasked with supporting the club's head of women's football, Russ Fraser, with developing the academy. Fraser left a year later, and Heskey succeeded him as head of women's football development. Leicester Women's manager, Jonathan Morgan, was sacked on 25 November 2021 after the team began the 2021–22 FA WSL season with eight successive losses, and Heskey took over the role on an interim basis. Five days later, it was announced that Lydia Bedford would succeed Morgan as manager, but Heskey was allowed to prepare for the team's upcoming League Cup tie against Manchester United. His sole match in charge was won on penalties, following a 2–2 draw in regular time. On 18 August 2023, Heskey was appointed as a coach supporting the England U18s ahead of the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup as part of The Football Association and Professional Footballers' Association's joint England Elite Coach Programme (EECP).

Youth level

Heskey gained his first international recognition with the England national under-16 team, making his debut on 26 April 1994 as a substitute in 1–0 win over Portugal in their opening match at the 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Championship. His first start came two days later as England drew 1–1 with the Republic of Ireland. All four of Heskey's under-16 caps came at this tournament, in which England were eliminated in the quarter-final by Ukraine, losing 7–6 on penalties after a 2–2 extra-time draw. Heskey made his debut for under-18s on 16 November 1995 when starting against Latvia in 1996 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualification, scoring both goals in a 2–0 win in the second and 58th minutes. He played in all four matches for the team at the 1996 UEFA European Under-18 Championship, scoring in the 18th minute of the third-place match against Belgium as England won 3–2 after extra time. He finished his under-18 career with eight appearances and five goals. Heskey went on to gain recognition with the under-21 team, making his debut after starting in a 0–0 draw with Poland on 8 October 1996; a year later on 30 May 1997, he scored against the same team in a 1–1 stalemate. Making his final appearance on 29 March 2000 in a 3–0 victory over FR Yugoslavia in a 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-off, he finished his under-21 career with 17 caps, in which he scored six goals. He was capped once by the England B team, against Chile…

Heskey was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, to a family of Antiguan descent, and his father, Tyrone Heskey, ran the security of nightclubs in Leicester. He attended City of Leicester School, Evington.