Jelani Smith
Jelani Smith (born January 1, 1991) is Canadian-born Guyanese footballer.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Jelani Akil Smith | ||
Date of birth | 1 January 1991 | ||
Place of birth | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | ||
Position(s) | Defender, Forward | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2009–2011 | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles | 49 | (5) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2007 | Canadian Lions | ||
2008 | Italia Shooters | 11 | (1) |
2010–2011 | Toronto Lynx | 11 | (1) |
2013–2014 | Sturm Graz II | 3 | (0) |
2016 | SSV Jeddeloh | 7 | (0) |
2017–2018 | Sigma FC | 31 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2017– | Guyana | 3 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 30, 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 27, 2019 |
Career
Smith began playing football at the youth level with the Ontario U-16 Provincial team, and at the National Training Center. In 2007, he became one of the youngest players to play in the Canadian Soccer League with the Canadian Lions.[1] The following season he was transferred to the Italia Shooters, where he clinched the International Division title.[2] In 2009, he pursued College soccer by enrolling with Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, and during the off season he played in the USL Premier Development League with the Toronto Lynx for two seasons.[3]
In 2013, he went abroad to sign with Sturm Graz, where he mostly featured in the Regionalliga Mitte.[4][5] In 2016, he played in the Niedersachsenliga with SSV Jeddeloh, and returned to Canada to play with Sigma FC in League1 Ontario.[6][7]
International career
On May 25, 2010, he was called to a Canada U-20 camp in Netherlands by head coach Valerio Gazzola.[8][9] Smith made his international debut for the Guyana national football team on November 14, 2017 in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago.[10][11][12]
References
- "Jelani Smith - 2012-13". Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "Canadian Soccer League Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2008-07-25. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "Jelani Smith | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "Sturm12.at | Der College-Boy mit dem Turboantrieb". Sturm12.at (in German). Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- GmbH, news networld Internetservice (2013-11-14). "Bundesliga - Sturm verpflichtet Jelani Smith". news.at (in German). Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "Kanadischer Innenverteidiger wechselt von STURM GRAZ nach Jeddeloh II | Mein Edewecht". mein.nwzonline.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "Sigma FC - 2017 Regular Season - Roster - # - Jelani Smith -". www.league1ontario.com. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "Men's soccer: FGCU's Jelani Smith named to Canada U-20 roster". Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- Toney, Rawle (2017-11-08). "Three debutants in Golden Jaguars squad for Soca Warriors friendly - Guyana Chronicle". Guyana Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "TT struggle in 1-1 draw against Guyana - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Jelani Smith". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2017-12-15.