The pair, now retired from playing, led successful spells with a number of Premier League and Championship clubs and are back on the grass in a new capacity, heading towards the completion of their UEFA B Licences.
Beckford made over 150 appearances for Leeds United and remains one of the club’s most prolific scorers to date. Leeds-born Aaron Lennon began his professional career with the Whites and went on to spend 10 years with Tottenham Hotspur, racking up over 250 appearances for the club.
The pair are working with the PFA as part of a group of former professional players preparing for new careers in the game. The cohort is made up exclusively of PFA members and is led by Coach Educator and ex-professional player Mark Jules.
Lennon has said that coaching came naturally to him towards the latter stages of his career.
As you get older, you realise that you’ve actually started coaching already. When you reach 28, 29… you’re doing it already – on and off the pitch. But once I got out here and started working with Mark, I knew this was where I wanted to be.”
The PFA’s coaching team delivers exclusive, subsidised courses to help current and former professional players qualify to work with footballers at every level of the pyramid.
