Long ball game as French ace commutes to Wales

Heard the one about the French former mobile phone boss turned striker who commutes 1,000 miles each week from his home in the Paris suburbs to play for Welsh side Rhyl, paying all his travel expenses out of his own pocket? That's the improbable life of 26-year-old forward Steven Lecefel, who moved from the backwaters of the French lower amateur leagues to the equally humble surroundings of the part-time Huws Cymru Alliance league last year. Lecefel, who used to run a mobile phone company, has become a star at Rhyl, the popular north Wales seaside resort who are now on the verge of promotion to the Welsh Premier League.

And his exploits have been spotted further afield, in Martinique, where his father was born, with the French Caribbean island rewarding him with an international call-up.

His unusual match day preparations begin by boarding the red-eye from Paris to Manchester, where he is met by Rhyl manager Greg Strong. He normally stays with Strong the night of the match, before returning home the following day.

"What I'm doing is not normal, but I've got the backing of the manager," the left winger told AFP.

"When I signed my contract last August I asked him (Strong) if he'd be okay with me continuing to live in France. "He said yes, as long as I paid my own travel expenses and that I continued to train during the week."

AFP.