Jersey born Callum Osmand scored the decisive final in the Old Firm derby for Celtic last night making him the latest Bailiwick star to announce himself onto the footballing scene.
Located in the middle of the English Channel the Island of Jersey hosts an abundance of footballing talent. With a population of just 100,000 the islet off the coast of France has seen droves of exciting young talent make their marks in the professional scene over the years. However the geographical barrier separating the Island from the mainland can make it difficult for developing young talent.
Former professional footballer Michael Weir from Jersey believes the island has: ‘always had good technical players and if Jersey was on the mainland most of the players would be in pro youth clubs. It’s just the unfortunate nature of living in Jersey, there is no professional set up on the island.’
Michael Weir representing Jersey at the Island Games in 2009
Currently there are four professional footballers who grew up in Jersey carrying the Jerriais name across Europe. Marlon Fossey, although American-born, grew up in the island and developed his craft before being picked up by the Fulham academy at the age of 11 and is now a key part of the Standard Liege squad.
Luke Harris is making his name at Championship side Oxford United while on loan from Premier League club Fulham having started his footballing journey playing for local team St Pauls.
A fellow St Pauls graduate, Sol Solomon earned himself a move to football league side Tranmere Rovers after impressing with his performances at step five Jersey Bulls, scoring 60 goals in just 71 games before being offered a place at step two Marine in Merseyside.
But the most notable of all is the man everyone in Glasgow is talking about today, Callum Osmand. Born in Jersey, Osmand was picked up by Fulham’s academy at the age of 14 before being signed by Celtic in the summer. He was handed his first appearance by interim manager Martin O’Neil on the 28th October before scoring his first senior goal in the Old Firm derby yesterday helping Celtic beat their rivals Rangers 3-1.
However it appears that players from Jersey are at a disadvantage due to the fact that they are cut off from the mainland.
‘My Dad said when I was younger you have to better than the players at the pro clubs because if you’re not they’re just going to stick with the lads they already have.’ Weir explained: ‘it’s very difficult and a big disadvantage living in Jersey but it just is what it is.’
Weir who joined Southampton’s academy at the age of age of 13 explained the difficulty of being an academy player while living on an island: ‘I was one of the first players in Jersey to be given a schoolboy contract and they flew me over every other week to play for them. I would play on the Saturday, train with the older boys on the Monday and fly back Monday night, but nowadays with finances clubs aren’t very keen to do that because it’s so expensive.’
Former team mate and family friend of Callum Osmand, Jamie Viera, commented on the Osmand’s family commitments to realising Callum’s dream, ‘Fulham said if Osmand was in the radius of the club they would sign him but he was in Jersey so his whole family decided to take the risk and move over to Fulham’.
Osmand playing for Grouville FC in Jersey as a youngster. Picture: JERSEY EVENING POST
The rise of footballing talent on the island is ‘amazing’ according to Weir. ‘It’s always great when you see players such as Callum Osmand or Luke Harris at the very highest level because it gets people talking about Jersey, there is a high level of quality on the island you just have to be in the right place at the right time.’
So what advice would you give to young players on the island?
Weir feels: ‘it is important to showcase the young players by going over to the mainland for games or academies coming over to Jersey to give them the best chance of getting picked up. For young players it’s about getting over rejection and understanding just because you don’t get picked up by one club that doesn’t mean you’re not good enough, everyone has different opinions.’
