Leicester Players with Jamaican Heritage: A Historical Overview

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Bobby De Cordova-Reid is one of two current Leicester players featuring for Jamaica. The other is Brandon Cover, who recently is said to have been offered a new contract at the club. They are two of a number of Leicester players who have appeared or been a squad member for Jamaica in recent internationals.

But the first ever player to notice being with some sort of background from the Raggae Islands is Brendon Phillips. He joined Leicester as a junior. This was back in the early seventies. Brendon Phillips went on to become a very famous player and manager at non-league level. He had brief EFL spells with Mansfield and Peterborough, playing 17 times in the league. Phillips never played international football for Jamaica.

The first player at Leicester to represent Jamaica was Frank Sinclair. Sinclair played for Jamaica in the 1998 World Cup, representing Chelsea at the time. Just after he joined Leicester. Sinclair was mostly used at the right flank during his time with Leicester. He also played on the right in a back three. He continued to play for Jamaica for a number of seasons, he ended his international career in 2003. Stopped on 28 caps.

Wes Morgan is of course to be mentioned. He made all his caps for Jamaica as a Leicester player. Not really much talked about as his international career. Morgan played 30 times for Jamaica between 2013 and 2016. Morgan captained the Reggae Boyz for the first time in the 3–1 defeat to Canada on 9 September 2014. Morgan never took part in a World Cup tournament with Jamaica. However, he was part of the Jamaican squad invited to the 2015 Copa América in Chile. He played every minute of their campaign, in which they were eliminated in last place in their group. Weeks later, he was again in the team at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States. The tournament was also held in Canada. He helped them to their first final. Jamaica lost 3–1 to Mexico at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

As said in the opener of this story, Brandon Cover and Bobby De Cordova-Reid are involved at this time. Demarai Gray is also in there. Gray was strangely enough on the bench for England when at Leicester. He later gave up and moved on. Gray made his debut for Jamaica in 2023. Gray is on 27 caps at this time, 7 goals so far. Bobby De Cordova-Reid is on 39 caps, scoring 6 goals so far. Brandon Cover was back in the Jamaica squad, after two years absent. He is a one cap wonder at present, but being called up again recently.

17 years ago today, I played my final game for Jamaica ⁦@LCFC⁩ against a Brazil team featuring Kaka, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Co. ⚽️💚💛🖤🇯🇲👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/5C4mSUBctS
— Frank Sinclair ⚽️ (@FrankMSinclair) October 12, 2020

Jamie Lawrence is one from the past also representing Jamaica. This all happened after he had left Leicester. He played for Leicester from 1995 to 1997, adding up a total of 47 league games, scoring once. Lawrence earned 24 caps for Jamaica between 2000 and 2004, scoring one goal. He appeared in 11 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

Barry Hayles turned out for Jamaica on 10 occasions. All of his caps came before he played for Leicester. He made his Jamaica debut after he initially played for the Cayman Islands. He was in their squad in 2000 for a pair of FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Cuba. He took part in an unofficial 5–0 friendly defeat to American club side D.C. United, but he never played for them in a full international after FIFA ruled that he did not meet eligibility requirements. He made his debut for Jamaica against Cuba on 10 June 2001. Although he never announced his retirement from international football, the national team did not call him up after 2005.

Jermaine Beckford and Ricky Sappleton are other recruits. Sappleton never played at full international level, but has represented Jamaica at U20 level, playing 5 times. Sappleton is a one game wonder at Leicester. The forward had his spell from 2007 to 2010, mostly being loaned out to other clubs. Jermaine Beckford is a different story. His debut came on the 23rd of March in a 1-1 draw vs. Panama. He was on loan at Huddersfield at the time. Beckford made a total of six appearances for Jamaica. He scored one goal in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match against the United States in June 2013.

Trevor Benjamin is the last to mention among our Raggie Boys footballers. He played twice, both caps being picked up while on the books at Leicester. He made his début for Jamaica on 20 November 2002 in an away game against Nigeria.

Players who have represented Leicester in play for Jamaica,