Francis was born in
Birmingham. He began his football career as a trainee with
Birmingham City in 1988, and turned professional with that club in 1990. He made his Football League debut on 19 January 1991, as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat to
Cambridge United in the
Third Division, and made two more appearances from the bench that season. He spent time on loan at
League of Ireland club
Cobh Ramblers, before returning to Birmingham to make three more substitute appearances without scoring. and played on loan for
Worcester City in the
Southern League, At the beginning of the 1993–94 season, he played once for fourth-tier club
Northampton Town, before moving to Ireland to rejoin Cobh Ramblers. and twice in the
2002–03 UEFA Cup. In October 1998 he went back to Cobh Ramblers on loan for the season. Francis joined
Longford Town in November 2002 and scored in that season's
FAI Cup Final at
Lansdowne Road as Longford won the first senior title in their history. In August 2004 Francis moved to
Kildare County F.C. His last League of Ireland goal was scored at
St Colman's Park on 21 May 2005. He retired at the end of the
2005 League of Ireland season. He served as the assistant manager of
Waterford United until May 2008. Francis is playing Saturday evening over-35s football with Kildare town AFC starting as their center forward, and has led them to double league and cup win during their 2013–2014 season. ==Honours==