A month after signing a new contract, Jamie Allen is quitting on his soccer team to pursue his dream of appearing on the raunchy reality TV show “Love Island.” I’d say you can’t make this stuff up, but the “Ted Lasso” creators literally wrote it into Season 2.
Folks, we have a real-life Jamie Tartt.
Jamie Allen has decided to join the cast of ❤️ Island 2022, making his intentions clear that the opportunity is very important to him.
The matter will be reviewed on his return.— FC Halifax Town (@FCHTOnline) July 20, 2022
Did someone order FOUR new bombshells? #Loveisland pic.twitter.com/fcoyqXathC
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) July 20, 2022
Jamie Allen is a 27-year-old forward with seven caps for Montserrat, the Concacaf nation ranked 177th in the world. He plays in England, place of his birth, for fifth-tier Halifax Town, for which he signed a one-year contract extension in June. Allen has scored 30 goals in 208 National League appearances in his career, plus one goal in League Two with Fleetwood Town.
Allen assisted the goal in Montserrat’s 1-1 draw with El Salvador in World Cup qualifying back in March 2021. Had the Emerald Boys — yes, Allen is a real Emerald Boy — found a winner in that match, they’d have played Saint Kitts and Nevis in a playoff to earn a spot in the Concacaf octagonal World Cup qualifying. Instead, El Salvador easily won that playoff 6-0 on aggregate before finishing seventh in the octagonal, including a 0-0 draw with the USMNT.
Perhaps with his slim World Cup hopes dashed — though born in England, he was never going to make the Three Lions squad — Allen decided to try to start a career in reality TV. With a market value of $55,000, maybe he’s not wrong.
We can’t help but think about Jamie Tartt, the cocky young striker in “Ted Lasso.”
(Spoilers for Season 2 of “Ted Lasso” below.)
Tartt, like Allen, left Manchester City to appear on the fictional reality TV show “Lust Conquers All,” no doubt a riff on shows like “Love Island.” Tartt is unceremoniously dumped off the show, and he’s shocked to learn Pep Guardiola doesn’t want him back.
Allen might not be welcome back at Halifax Town after this little stunt either. Then again, fifth-tier football is a bit different from the Premier League, and Halifax might enjoy the publicity.
Either way, Allen seems to have made a new friend. Phil Dunster, the actor who plays Jamie Tartt and actually has some decent football skills, welcomed Allen to the villa.
See ya in the villa, lad https://t.co/RyO7yeKxQP pic.twitter.com/a6D6lA0EWj
— Phil Dunster (@phildunster) July 20, 2022
You may be shocked to learn I’ve never watched “Love Island,” but if they filled the entire show with soccer players like this real-life Jamie Tartt, I’d totally watch it.
