Dreams, Roy Kent.

Believe In Your Dreams.

CLAIRE LAGHARI had always tried to play it safe. Taking risks was unlike her. While she could be impulsive, her responsibilities had oftentimes outweighed the urge to act on them. The twenty-eight year old was not just responsible for herself, as she had raised her sixteen year old sister. And thus, the perfectionist had worked hard for her success, in order to provide a life for them that suited them both, a life better than her own. While Claire was grateful for her childhood; living in a council flat in East-London with her tight-knit family, she was a renowned documentary-maker at the CBC now, her name on billboards all over the UK. She could afford better.

While she had worked hard for her achievements, it had been difficult. After the death of her loving father, her life was altered forever. Claire was left with all of her unexpressed love for him. She had been grateful in a strange way; that she knew his death was coming, which meant that she did get to say goodbye, multiple times, unlike with her mother's passing. But it didn't truly prepare her. She had mourned the loss of him for years, his absence lingering in the back of her mind. But luckily, she didn't have to go through it alone. The Laghari family, consisting of her sister and best friend, mourned him together. Her love for him would always linger, but she moved on. Threw herself in her work, reminding herself that she was doing it for him.

However, there was one thing in her life that had always come easy; football. Watching it, playing it, supporting it. All of it. Her enjoyment of the sport was practically in her genes; it was a generational trait, that had been passed on to her. Her dad had pledged his undying loyalty to AFC Richmond, supporting them through everything. Her parents had frequently visited Mae's Pub—according to Mae, they even used to stop by while she was still in the womb. Even after her mother's passing, Claire and her dad used to watch their matches together, shouting loudly at the telly.

When the new owner of AFC Richmond, Rebecca Welton, offered Claire an opportunity to do what she does best—make a documentary series—at her club, she's gobsmacked. Not only did the entire situation sound fucking ridiculous, it was also such a strange coincidence. Apparently, Rebecca wanted to rebrand the image of the club and she figured that footage from behind the scenes would allow them to control the narrative and give audiences more insight into their favourite players. Quite frankly, Claire thought it was very unnecessary; who would even be interested in watching a documentary series of a football team on the brink of failure? And why should she accept a job that felt extremely personal? However, when her supervisor Lewis Haywood at the CBC informed Claire of their latest scoop—aka AFC Richmond's new American coach—she knew she couldn't refuse the gig. The opportunity was just too good to pass on. It also helped that she's being paid a hefty amount.

Before her official first day even arrived, everything at AFC Richmond were already a colossal mess. The arrival of the new coach had stirred things up, and some players were overly eager to showcase themselves in front of the camera. Among them, there was one player who stood out: Roy Kent. He despised the idea of being filmed and made it known from the start. Claire liked a challenge, and Roy Kent intrigued her. This is how Claire Laghari found herself at AFC Richmond, accompanied by a camera crew, embarking on a new journey to create a mockumentary.

For her, it was supposed to be strictly business. Little did she know that Roy Kent, the very player who had sparked her curiousity, would eventually capture her heart. Not only that, but AFC Richmond soon began to feel like home. It wouldn't completely fill the void in her heart that the death of her parents had left, a void that would always remain. But it did slowly help her heal. And for that, Claire Laghari would always be immensely grateful to Ted Lasso.