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The list of Vincentian footballers plying their trade on the international scene is almost blank.{{more}}
At present, the lone player with international exposure is Cornelius Stewart, who is with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Stewart, who made his St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior team debut in 2008, embarked on a professional path in 2009 with the Whitecaps Residency Programme, where he worked his way up to the first team during the last season. He was relegated before the end of the season.
There remains some uncertainty about the speedy strikerâs future, as the Whitecaps head to the Major League Soccer this year, and with the restriction placed on the number of imported players, Stewartâs place is touch and go.
Another Vincentian, defender Wesley Charles, a veteran of 14 years playing for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, also played in the United States Soccer League, Division Two, for the Whitecaps, before being dropped in 2009. Charles got a reprieve one year later with the Montreal Impact, but that was just for the remainder of the 2010 season.
Charles, who spent 10 seasons playing in Ireland, has since returned to that country.
His most recent stint with the national senior team took place last November, when he captained St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the second phase of the Digicel Caribbean Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.
Like Stewart and Charles, Marlon James, a striker, was also on the l Continued from page 19
roster of the Whitecaps. He was cut from the team last August, with his age and the frequency of injuries, proffered as the responsible factors.
Reports are that James, 34, may return to Malaysia where he spent in total, five seasons, representing Sabah FC, MK Land and Kedah FC.
Reports also suggest that he is weighing up other options, including a return to the United States Soccer League.
James, who started representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 1995, was this countryâs captain in the World Cup qualifiers against Canada in June 2008.
On the semi-professional side, veteran player Kendall Velox, after coming out of retirement last year, is in the twilight of his career. He resides in Trinidad and Tobago. He has played in that countryâs semi-professional league since 1997.
Velox, now 39, retired for the second time from international duties for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2008, and from the professional game altogether in 2009, but had a change of heart again, when he re-signed with North Stars for the 2010-2011 season.
He made his senior St. Vincent and the Grenadines team debut in 1991.
Meanwhile, pacey striker, Shandell Samuel, who is on the roster of a Trinidad and Tobago club Mau Pau, is set to return there, following a lay-off caused by injury.
Samuel returned to St. Vincent and the Grenadines last October and led this country to the second round of the Digicel Cup. He made his St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior debut in 2001. (RT)
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