Paul Gascoigne: Ex-England star joins Sunday League side
Last updated on .From the section Football
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne is set to play football again after signing for a Sunday League Division Four team in Bournemouth.
The 47-year-old, who played 57 times for his country, has joined Abbey and could make his debut against either Rentech Repairs or ARC Cleaning.
Sandy Hills, an administrator at the Bournemouth FA, described it as "a massive coup" for the league.
Abbey boss Chris Foster, a taxi driver, said: "I've offered to pick him up."
Foster told BBC Radio Solent that he asked Gascoigne to sign after driving to a shop to buy him cigarettes.
"He said, 'If you're still playing at 51, then I could still play at 47'," explained Foster, who brought the necessary forms to complete the deal when he returned.
"He said, 'what's that for?'," Foster added. "I said, 'Are you going to sign on for me?' and he said, 'oh, go on then'.
"He said, 'who's it for', I said, 'Abbey FC' and he said, "OK then, mate, it's a deal. You give me my £8 change back, and I'll sign for you' and that was it."
Foster, who said Gascoigne's involvement will depend on his fitness, explained that he will "pop a little letter through his door and he rings me if and when".
The Bournemouth FA has confirmed to BBC Sport that Gascoigne has registered and could play immediately.
Gascoigne was 17 when he made his Newcastle debut in 1985, before moving to Tottenham in 1988 for £2.3m - a British transfer record at the time.
After helping England reach the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, he went on to play for Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley and Chinese side Gansu Tianma.
But he has suffered a string of personal issues since he last played professionally, for League Two Boston United in 2004.