Bermuda: Premier League Nations
Continuing our alphabetical world tour, next up is Bermuda. One of 26 FIFA nations who are not members of the UN (10 of which have been represented in the Premier League), Bermuda is a British overseas territory.
According to the Premier League website, three Bermudian players have featured in the Premier League, the first of whom was…
First Player – Kyle Lightbourne (Coventry City; 1997/98)
Having moved to English football in 1993 after a brief Cricket career in Bermuda, striker Kyle Lightbourne drew the attention of higher league clubs during a prolific spell with Walsall.
Coventry gambled on the Bermudan for a fee of £500,000, but loaned him to Fulham after a disappointing half season in which he started just one league fixture.
Lightbourne went on to enjoy more successful spells at Stoke and Macclesfield in the football league. He is currently the manager of the Bermuda national team, for whom he scored 16 goals in 40 appearances as a player.
Records
- Most Appearances – Shaun Goater (52)
- First appearance – Kyle Lightbourne (COVENTRY 3-2 Chelsea, August 9th 1997)
- Most goals – Shaun Goater (13)
- First goal – Shaun Goater (MANCHESTER CITY 5-0 Everton, December 9th 2000)
Other players
Shaun Goater is perhaps the best known Bermudian to play in the Premier League, doing so in 2000/01 and 2002/03.
The most recent Bermudan to play in the Premier League was Nakhi Wells, who made nine experiences for Burnley in 2017/18. Wells has played for Bermuda as recently as 2019, while several players from the lower tiers of English football were also called up.
Trivia
- All three Bermudan Premier League players were strikers, but only Shaun Goater scored a Premier League goal.
- All three Bermudan Premier League players have played in all four divisions of the football league.
- June 21st is known as Shaun Goater day in Bermuda.