Francis Jeffers, English footballer
Francis Jeffers (born 25 January 1981) is an English football coach and former player, who was most recently a first-team coach at Ipswich Town.
Jeffers started his career at his boyhood club Everton, making his debut in 1997 as a 16 year old. After scoring 20 goals in 60 appearances for Everton, he signed for Arsenal in 2001. During his time at Arsenal, he won the FA Cup twice in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, Jeffers joined Charlton Athletic, where he spent two seasons, including spending time on loan at Scottish club Rangers. He moved to Blackburn Rovers in 2006, spending one season at the Lancashire club, whilst also spending time out on loan at Ipswich Town in 2007. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in 2007. He spent three seasons at Wednesday, making 60 appearances for the club. He left Sheffield Wednesday in 2010, moving to Australian side Newcastle Jets. He left Newcastle Jets to move to Scottish club Motherwell in 2011, before returning to Australia to rejoin Newcastle Jets in October 2011. After leaving Newcastle Jets in 2012, he joined Maltese side Floriana. He returned to England in 2013 to join Accrington Stanley, before retiring from football after leaving Accrington in 2013.
He represented England at U15, U16 and U21 levels, becoming the joint-top scorer of the England U21 team after scoring 13 goals in 16 appearances, a record which he held up until 2020. In February 2003, Jeffers made his senior debut for the England national team, scoring against Australia in his one senior cap for England.
Following his retirement from playing, he returned to Everton as a coach at the club's academy in 2014, later becoming a coach with the club's U23 side in 2018. He left Everton in May 2021 to join Ipswich Town as a first-team coach, a role he held until December.