Former England football team manager spotted at the Eden Gardens among fans in KKR vs RR IPL 2025 match [In Picture]

Former England football team manager, Gareth Southgate, turned up to support the Rajasthan Royals (RR) once again in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The Englishman was spotted among some RR fans at the Eden Gardens in the ongoing clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, May 4.

Gareth Southgate was seen among a section of RR fans at their home venue, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, during the 100-run loss to the Mumbai Indians (MI) too. The former player and head coach, most known for his recent stint with the England national men's football team, was a surprising presence among the star attractions over the course of the tournament so far.

Southgate, who led England to the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the finals of the 2020 and 2024 Euros, stepped down from his post in July 2024. He has been linked with a couple of clubs, but is yet to take a coaching position.

The RR ownership group certainly has English roots, with team owner Manoj Badale being a British-Indian businessman. He was also conferred with an OBE in 2018, and completed his education at the University of Cambridge. RR also have an Englishman, Jake Lush McCrum, holding the spot of Chief Executive Officer. Interestingly, his great-great-grandfather invented the penalty kick rule in football.

Take a look at Gareth Southgate witnessing the KKR vs RR IPL 2025 game from the stands right here:

At the time of writing, KKR are placed at 121-3 after 15 overs in the first innings. RR managed to control the game in the middle overs, but need a strong finish in the death overs to get a desirable target.

When Gareth Southgate's childhood coach expressed his desire to see him play cricket

Southgate is an ardent cricket follower, a fact confirmed by his childhood coach Steve Avory.

"I wanted him also to play some cricket, but athletics was his priority," Avory said in an interview with TalkSport in March 2024.

The former England coach is also among the traditionalists who revere the red-ball format over everything else.

England Test captain Ben Stokes had paid a visit to Gareth Southgate and the rest of the England team during their training camp ahead of Euros 2024.