Meet the man tasked with teaching the actors in Ted Lasso how to play footy - an ex-pro who turned to TV after injuries cut his promising career short.

Kasali Casal - known as Kas - joined Fulham's youth set up in 2003 and also enjoyed spells in America, Netherlands, Romania and Bulgaria before getting hurt.

Now, he is the man who ensures the football scenes in the hit show Ted Lasso - returning for a fourth series today (5/8) - are as realistic as possible.

Kas played a key role in crafting and perfecting the football skills of the AFC Richmond men's team for the first three series of the Apple TV series.

This time around he was brought in to run an "intensive" three-week football boot camp ahead of filming, to make sure the actors looked the part.

Series four focuses on AFC Richmond's second-division women's team, The Lady Greyhounds.

Kas said the boot camp comprised daily routines of drills, control and movement.

He said: "As soon as they had the ball in front of their feet I could tell who had played before.

"This was different from the men. I was starting from scratch for most of them. A couple of them had played a bit when they were really young but they were very rusty.

"In some ways it was easier than the men. And when it came to filming they were so disciplined, we didn't need nearly as many takes as we did with the men.

"It was not easy by any means but they wanted to learn and they wanted to look the part.

"They had been thrown into this from the get-go but they delivered and I'm just glad Jason [Sudeikis] trusted me to do the job he wanted."

Kas ran sessions at Hayes & Yeading FC's ground in south-west London after the actors had been selected by Ted Lasso himself, Sudeikis, and Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard.

Kas believes the ten-episode run will give a massive boost to lower-tier women's football globally, as it tackles issues such as funding and second-rate facilities.

"The new series will really make people stand up and pay attention to women's football," he said.

"It's always a risk to do something different or to do it in a different way but I know in my heart of hearts this is going to be a massive success.

"It will touch people like the other seasons did in a different way and will bring a great deal of joy to a great number of people."

Kas says received an unexpected call from production co-ordinating chief Andrew Warren in May last year that season four was going to take place - and it would be built around a women's team.

He said: "I couldn't believe it. There had been talk about it and speculation in the media but we all knew Jason needed a break at the end of season three because he was just so tired.

"Andrew told me it was going to be a women's team. My eyes lit up and immediately said 'yes'.

I think a lot of it was about the timing with women's football booming but still struggling to break through in so many ways when it deserves to.

"It's still struggling for attention despite the success of the Lionesses in England and I think this will really make people stand up and pay attention."

Kas says that Faye Marsay, who plays Lizzie, and Mercedes Assad were the two actors who caught his eye as having played before.

Faye, who has a child in the show, hopes the storylines will highlight the challenges facing women struggling with careers and motherhood.

She said: "It's a very small percentage of female athletes in the British Premier League who have children and are players, so I hope it starts a conversation around how we deal with women's health in sport and women wanting to be mothers.

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