What it means to play international football for Montserrat
By Craig Brewin
The world is starting to sit up and take notice of the Montserrat Football Team, with regular features starting to appear in World Soccer Magazine, social media, and the national press in
the UK. Its achievements are drawing
Montserrat’s unexpected charge to the finals is being helped by a number of factors: A one-off free for all qualifying tournament designed to facilitate the creation of the new Concacaf Nations League, and an expansion of the Gold Cup Finals to 16 teams. They also have a very experienced coach, Willie Donachie, who has coached in the Premier League and been to two World Cups with Scotland. Whether or not the team makes it the USA, the journey has been an experience, with the players clearly relishing the competition. They have already qualified for League B in the New Nations League, which gives them another, but more difficult, chance to qualify for the Gold Cup in two year’s time.
So what does it mean to be an English born Montserrat international? It is clear from reading their interviews and tweets that it means a lot. They are a close group of players. Being a small group, they have known each other for a few years now, and their common Montserratian heritage is something they are proud of.
Brandon Comely said after the El Salvador game: ”it was the first time that I’ve lined up in a game with my brother and going to play for a country that’s in our blood was a proud moment. “Spencer Weir-Daley said: “Playing for your country is one of the best honours in football” and that the team was honoured to be “representing their parents and grandparents”.
Adrian Clifton has said that “not many footballers get an international call up even those in the Premier League. As a footballer it is one of the proudest things you can do, whether it is playing for a big country or a small island everyone wants to play for their country. With my family coming from Montserrat I’ve got massive support there.” After the Belize game he tweeted: “the phone call I just got from my grandad actually made me cry”.
Captain Lyle Taylor has said “Very few players get the chance to play for their countries, whether it’s the county where they were born or whatever. There was no way I was going to turn that down.” It’s the “chance to represent the country my dad’s side of the family come from”. After his first call up he said: “I can’t wait to show my grandparents the videos and pictures, just to hear about how different things were when they lived there”
Taylor has also spoken about meeting an Uncle “Beep-Beep” who he never knew he had, and Dean Mason has said: “I felt more of a connection with my Grandmother when I went there. It’s a really nice feeling to play for my country and to make her proud. When you meet the locals, they explain to you what they went through with the volcano”.
Whatever the outcome of this season, the achievements over the past few months have shown that the team is far better than their lowly seeding recognised. Donanchie’s assistant, former Everton physio Mick Rathbone, described the win over Belize as the best team performance he had seen in his whole life.
They have to win their last game, and they need their rivals to lose, but they are optimistic of making it to the USA. Joey Taylor said Montserrat “rattled” Belize, and El Salvador struggled to “cope”. “We have a real chance of qualifying” said Weir-Daley, with Dean Mason being more forthright: “Bro, it’s happening, I can feel it in my bones”. “We will show the world what Montserrat are capable of,” said Messiah McDonald, “we are coming for the Gold Cup.”
Craig Brewin writes a ‘blog’ (Living on the Island of Montserrat Montserrat’s only ironically meta blog covering football, human rights and shopping)
