There is something unique about football. The “beautiful game”, as it is known, seems to stand above all other sports in its ability to reflect back to us the agony and the ecstasy of life itself.
And few people are better positioned to understand the transcendent magic of football than Jersey legend Ricky Weir.
For Ricky, who has carved out a ‘Mount Rushmore’ status as one of the island’s premier footballing voices, sport is a vehicle for self-understanding.
His special relationship with football – and how it bears upon identity, purpose and decision-making – has endured through childhood to the present day.
Adopted by a Scottish couple as a baby, his youth involved navigating a predominantly white society as a black child unmoored from his past.
He went on to achieve incredible things as a footballer, and has been at the epicentre of Jersey’s game for over 40 years as a player, coach and manager.
In recent years, he has devoted his energy to football-related charitable work, supporting projects in some of Africa’s most disadvantaged communities.
Now Ricky has turned his “stranger than fiction” life story into a memoir titled “Illegitimately Blessed”, published by Europe Books in December.
The memoir – written with undeniable wit, candour and vulnerability – has since captured the imagination of people across the world; from India to South Africa to Glasgow.
In addition to the public acclaim, the book has also garnered the praise of critics; in April 2026, it received the prestigious Pegasus Literary Award in Cattolica, Italy.
The Pegasus awards are widely regarded in literary circles as the “Oscars of Italian literature”, recognising works of notable cultural and emotional impact.
Express sat down with Ricky to get the scoop on his special trip to the Italian Riviera…
How did it all begin?
Ricky explained that the spark for writing the book began with an innocuous comment from a stranger in the Santander Work café.
“I was having a coffee with a friend. We hadn’t seen each other for like 15 years, and we were just catching up, she’d been off-island,” he explained.
“We were just chatting, and I was bringing her up to date. The last time we’d met I would have been still in the midst of tracing my father and stuff like that.
“Anyway, we’re there for an hour, and then we step up to leave – and as we’re getting up – she says ‘I’ve always told you, you need to write a book’.
“And there’s a guy next to us – it’s quite cosy in there – and he’s like a scholarly guy around my age, probably a little bit younger.
“He just turns his shoulder and says, ‘I agree’. And this is a complete stranger who’s just overheard a little bit.”
Ricky later stumbled across a man named Travis on LinkedIn advertising his services as a book coach.
“I found myself asking, is this a message to say, ‘You need to take a look at this?’. So I did.”
Taking ownership
Ricky explained that he began the process of writing a book by using a transcription service to get his initial “mash of thoughts” onto paper.
From there, the rough-cut went through several different iterations – with bits of external help along the way – before Ricky “took ownership” and unified the narrative into one cohesive whole.
“I remember, it was from March to June, and that was when I felt I earned the right to become an author,” he said.
People see you on the field and you’ve smashed in a hat-trick but it doesn’t just happen like that
Ricky weir
“Over four months – from 6am to 8am every day – I had to do two hours and get this done, and that was painful, but it was so worth it.”
Drawing an analogy to his experience on the pitch, he added: “It’s like putting in the work for football training. It’s putting in the training early.
“People see you on the field and you’ve smashed in a hat-trick, but it doesn’t just happen like that.
“It was all the stuff you’ve done behind the scenes that made me – when I came out the other end – think, ‘yeah, I can own this now’.”
Reception
Explaining the trajectory of the memoir, Ricky said: “Long story short, we self-published in September 2024.
“I really kind of promoted amongst family, friends, no big marketing things like that. I was just happy to have got it done.”
On a whim, he sent the manuscript off to an international publisher Europe Books, based in Italy.
“Then, in March last year, I get a WhatsApp message from a lady saying she’s been asked to review my book,” he said.
The woman reviewed it and recommended that it be given a publishing contract.
In the background, Ricky also decided to fill out a simple form and send off the memoir to several European literary awards.
On 31 March, he was then emailed with news that he’d been nominated for one of the most prestigious literary titles in Italian literature.
Ricky joked: “It came in on the evening of 31 March, and I remember jokingly saying to a friend: ‘I’m so glad this came in tonight and not tomorrow morning, because I definitely would have thought it was an April Fools!””
Winning the award
In a happy twist of fate, he happened to have already booked a holiday in Europe with one of his three children near the date of the literary award ceremony in Italy.
A quick shuffling around of the itinerary meant Ricky was able to get to the seaside town of Cattolica with little to no fuss, he said.
“The long and short of it is, even still today, I’m like, wow – they had a lot of Italian awards for Italian writers, but this was like an international award,” he said.
Reflecting on the win, Ricky said he still finds himself having to “take a breath” in order to appreciate the scale of the achievement.
“My translator said [the international categories] are even harder to win because there are so many more people that are applying,” he added.
“They don’t know me from Adam, so you’ve also that authenticity of the fact it’s not like an old pals act – so then you know that it has to be down to the appeal of the book, and that’s been very gratifying.”
Inspiring others
Despite its incredible reception, it is clear that Ricky’s memoir wasn’t written with adulation or awards in mind.
“The memoir was, and is, a legacy for my three boys,” said Ricky.
“Because, although each of them knew bits of my story, none of them knew all of it, or not even close, actually.
“They’ve now all read it at different stages and times, and each of them has come at it from a different perspective.”
Ricky said he’s also interested in the “ongoing” process of inspiring readers perhaps not already familiar with his story.
“If one person is inspired, I will be happy,” he said. “Every book that is sold, every comment, every whatever – it’s all just a bonus.”
Illegitimately Blessed, by Ricky Weir, is available to buy online via Waterstones, Amazon and other online retailers.