Guyana: Premier League Nations
Next up in our alphabetical world tour is Guyana. Located in South America, Guyana play their continental football in the CONCACAF federation of North and Central America and the Caribbean.
According to the Premier League website, four players have represented Guyana in the Premier League, starting back in 1996.
First Player – Carl Cort (Wimbledon, Newcastle, Wolves; 1996-2004)
Born in England, Carl Cort came through the ranks at Wimbledon, making 73 Premier League appearances before leaving the Dons following their relegation in 2000.
Joining Newcastle for £7 million and still only 22-years-old, the future looked bright for Cort, but injury plagued his time at Newcastle and over three seasons at St. James’ Park he managed only 22 league appearances.
Cort joined newly-promoted Wolves for the 2003/04 season but again struggled with injury. Wolves were relegated in Cort’s first season at Molineux, and he would spend the rest of his club career in the football league and abroad.
Records
- Most appearances – Carl Cort (111)
- First appearance – Carl Cort (WIMBLEDON 0-2 Aston Villa, April 9th 1997)
- Most goals – Carl Cort (28)
- First goal – Carl Cort (Newcastle 1-3 WIMBLEDON, September 13th 1997)
Other Players
The second Guyanese player to play in the Premier League was Neil Danns, who made five appearances ranging between 2002 and 2008 for Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City. Guyanese Premier League player number three was Matthew Briggs, who at the time of his debut for Fulham was the youngest player to appear in the Premier League (16 years, 68 days).
In 2008, Carl Cort’s younger brother Leon became the fourth Guyanese player, appearing for Stoke and Burnley.
Trivia
- All four Guyanese Premier League players were born in England. After each making their international debut for Guyana, none of the four managed to add to their Premier League appearances.
- Carl Cort and Leon Cort are half-brothers of Chelsea and England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
- Matthew Briggs held the record as the youngest player to appear in the Premier League for just under 12 years, until Harvey Elliot made his Fulham debut in May 2019.