Continuing our alphabetical world tour, next up is Grenada. A former commonwealth state, Grenada have been an independent nation since 1974, though their first international fixture was back in 1934.
Despite having a population of little over 100,000, two players have represented Grenada in the Premier League, according to the Premier League website.
First Player – Jason Roberts (West Brom, Portsmouth, Wigan, Blackburn, Reading; 2002-04, 2005-12, 2012-13)
A popular figure at several English clubs, Jason Roberts became known as a promotion magnet and dependable Premier League striker over a 17-year professional career.
Having broken through at non-league side Hayes, Roberts spent time at Torquay, Bristol Rovers and Bristol City before making the jump to the second tier with West Brom.
After winning promotion in 2001/02, Roberts enjoyed his first taste of the Premier League. He found it difficult to maintain his scoring record from the lower divisions however and was loaned to Portsmouth before moving to Wigan, where he again won promotion to the Premier League.
Roberts moved to Blackburn in 2006, spending five-and-a-half years at Ewood Park before moving to Reading for the final of his promotion/Premier League conquests.
Born in England, Roberts qualified to play for Grenada through his father. The biggest obstacle to his international career was availability, the tightly packed English football schedule rarely affording Roberts the time to travel to the Caribbean for matches. Despite this, Roberts did win 12 caps.
Records
- Most appearances – Jason Roberts (221)
- First appearance – Jason Roberts (Man United 1-0 WEST BROM, August 17th 2002)
- Most goals – Jason Roberts (36)
- First goal – Jason Roberts (Arsenal 5-2 West Brom, August 27th 2002)
Other Players
Delroy Facey is the only other Grenadian to appear in the Premier League, making 10 appearances for Bolton in 2003. Though Facey and Roberts both made their Premier League debuts in 2002/03, it was ultimately to prove the peak of Facey’s career, spending the rest of his career in the lower leagues before being sent to prison for match-fixing in 2015.
Elsewhere, several recently capped Grenadians currently play their club football in the football league and non-league.
Trivia
- Both players to have represented Grenada in the Premier League were born in England.
- Jason Roberts was made an MBE in 2010 and is currently Director of Development at CONCACAF.
