Meet the former footballer behind the choreography of hit show Ted Lasso

• Kasali Casal showed promise as a footballer by breaking into the Fulham first team at 17, but was forced to retire at 24 due to injuries
• After getting his coaching qualifications via the PFA, Casal was presented with an exciting opportunity where he could combine coaching and filming on one of Apple TV+’s biggest shows
• After finishing the third season of Ted Lasso in 2022, Casal was approached to help with the promotion of the Homeless World Cup

Kasali Casal’s playing career was cruelly cut short through injury. Born and raised in north-west London, Casal showed much promise when coming through the ranks of Fulham, who he joined at the age of 16 in 2003, as a pacey left-sided player.

"I got into the first team at 17," said Casal, reflecting on his time at Craven Cottage. "I played my first match in the League Cup, had a great first team debut and then got called up by England Under-21s. Everything was on a high, and then the next week I ruptured my thigh muscle in two halves."

The first surgeon Casal saw told him he would never play football again. A second specialist told him there was a chance of a footballing return, albeit very slim.

"He said the first surgeon was mostly correct but that there was one way around it: letting it heal naturally. He was very honest and said it would never be the same and it could take a year to heal."

Casal was back playing 14 months later but knew he was not at his usual level. "Before, I had that turn of pace where I could get away from players immediately, but I didn’t have that anymore.

"A lot had changed at Fulham in that time: the manager who gave me my first team debut had been sacked, a new manager came in with new players, and most of the previous first team had moved on."

Commercials

Seeking a new opportunity, Casal soon found himself moving Stateside to play in Major League Soccer with DC United. It was there where he started to take an interest in filming.

"When you're playing professional football, you get thrown into a whole load of commercials and I was always very interested in what people were doing behind the camera. I was watching how they worked and it gave me an idea that maybe this was something I could pursue and be more active in."

Still finding his playing opportunities curtailed by injuries – "I was playing with pain, so one match I'd be able to play, the next match I couldn't" – Casal retired at the age of 24 after spells in the Netherlands, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. 

Development pathways with England’s PFA meant he was able to get his level one and two coaching badges, as well as his UEFA B and UEFA A licences within just three years. "As soon as you finish playing, the PFA are there straight away, saying, ‘this course starts at this time – jump on it now, if not, the next one's at this time’."

An exciting opportunity then came calling where Casal could combine his knack for coaching with his passion for filming. "I got a call from one of the people I was doing these commercials in front of camera with [at DC United] and they had since moved on to bigger stuff, filming TV.

"She said there was a new football show, season one was already created, and while it had performed well, the football itself wasn’t the best and that they wanted to make it better. And I was like, ‘okay, what's the name of the show?’. She told me it was Ted Lasso."

Casal’s casting and choreography

Starring well-known actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso is a sports comedy-drama that follows the American football coach of the same name who is unexpectedly hired to manage fictional English Premier League team AFC Richmond, based in west London.

According to IMDB, Ted Lasso was the most-viewed Apple original series of 2023 with over 16.9 billion minutes of viewership.

"Season two was coming around. They said they needed the football to look much better and asked if I was the man for the job. I said, of course!"

Casal was brought in to help with the football choreography of the training and match action scenes. It meant working closely with Sudeikis in his role as Lasso, alongside his assistant Coach Beard, played by Brendan Hunt.

"They explained exactly how they wanted things to go, and I was like, ‘no problem, this is what I do’. I changed things around regarding how the actors work because on season one they weren't doing training sessions and rehearsals. We introduced rehearsals, got the players practicing, gave them homework to do. I gave the actors personalised one-to-one coaching sessions, so by the time they got to the day they were shooting film, they were ready with a bang."

Casal also played an integral role in the recruitment of former professional footballers to feature as opposition teams. They included former Premier League footballers such as George Elokobi, Jay Bothroyd, Jermaine Pennant and Lee Hendrie.

"These are guys that have played at the top level, so they really helped. When you see all of the little pieces that you put together, especially working with the actors, doing the rehearsals, getting them prepared for certain teams, shooting with the different teams, getting the different camera angles, that’s the best part of the job."

Homeless World Cup

After finishing the third season of Ted Lasso in 2022, Casal was approached to help with the promotion of the Homeless World Cup, which was to be held in Sacramento, USA. The Homeless World Cup is an annual tournament that uses football as a tool to support and inspire people who are homeless to change their lives.

Three years later, he is still strongly involved with the tournament, having recently served as a master of ceremonies and a roving reporter bringing player stories, behind-the-scenes action, and special interviews at 2025 edition held in Oslo, Norway.

"Homelessness is quite close to home and a few people I grew up with ended up on the street. I was lucky I had football; it took me away from what could have been a completely different life. Whereas some of my other friends that didn't have football, they ended up doing a lot of bad stuff, going to jail and when they got out, they ended up homeless. 

"When I went to that first Homeless World Cup and I saw it for my own eyes, I was like, this is real for me. I really get it. So that's why it stuck with me since. I'll continue to be an ambassador at next year’s edition, where we’re looking to take some things to the next level."

FIFPRO signed a new two-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Homeless World Cup to continue the partnership they officially started in 2015, sponsoring the tournament’s Fair Play Award.

The award recognises outstanding sporting spirit and celebrates the spirit of community and hard work. Learn more here.