My name is Delroy Jeffers, and I come from the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis. I am 45 and am a civil servant by profession. I have been a Funds Supervisor for the past 20 years in the Accountant General Department at the Ministry of Finance. On the football pitch, I am currently an Assistant Referee.
I follow and support the St. Kitts & Nevis national team. However, as a current match official in my country, I cannot show my support to any of the local clubs for obvious reasons. During my younger days, I played from the youth level right up to the senior level for my national team before I transitioned into refereeing.
Football is a passionate sport, one of the most important sporting activities in my country. I love football because it brings people together and allows me to meet other people from different cultures and beliefs, and learn how they operate. I am able to share experiences from my country and culture while learning about theirs.
A Football Family
My family is very involved in football. My mother, sister, and brothers are all lovers of the game. My mother attends almost all the local league matches and, when the national team plays at home, she is there as well. The same can be said of my sister who loves football. I have an older brother who played for the U-19 national team. One of my younger brothers and nephew played for the U-23 teams and are currently playing for local clubs in our Premier division. We were all born in St. Kitts, but my elder brother and sister are living in the United States.
Football is so important to my family because it gives us an opportunity to show support to each other in the things we love doing. It is an exciting time whenever any of us have a match to play or even when I am officiating.
Being a Kittitian means everything to me. It is my country of birth and one that I love with my whole heart. I am a very proud citizen of the federation. I want the world to know that St. Kitts & Nevis is a very beautiful and relaxing place, where most people get along with each other.
Supporting the national team has always been a great experience for me since I was young. I have not been able to travel anywhere outside of St. Kitts to watch my team play - only on the occasions when I was a player, where I traveled to Trinidad and Antigua as part of tournaments we were involved in.
Joining The Fraternity
I started playing football at the age of eight when I played for my primary school team. I was named captain two years later before I went on to secondary school. After completing high school, I played for a few local clubs in Division 1. While captain for one of the teams, IAS Blackburns, we won the Championship and were promoted to the Premier division but were soon relegated after one season. I transferred to my community team Trafalgar South Stars where I was the player-coach for two seasons before I retired from playing and went into refereeing, as an Assistant Referee.
What inspired me to be an Assistant Referee was the fact that upon retiring from playing I could still give back to the sport in some capacity. One of our FIFA Assistant Referees, Graeme Browne, also encouraged me to become a referee, because I could make some money while still doing what I love. He saw the potential in me and therefore told me to join the fraternity.
It is my intention to continue refereeing and do more assessing of match officials, with the hope of becoming a FIFA Assessor in the future.
Island Pride
I support my national team through prayer, with my flag, and by wearing a shirt or a jersey with the national colors when I attend the matches. When I see the players on the street, I give them an encouraging word so that they will be confident going into the game. I also tell other people about the matches and invite them to come to the game if it is being played at home or share the link to watch if the matches are away.
Watching the Gold Cup with St. Kitts playing in it was a joy to see! A very proud moment for all citizens, almost like a mission accomplished! It was very exciting, even though we did not get the results we were expecting. The experience and the exposure for our younger players in particular is what we strive for.
We are super proud of the coaching staff, players, and fans alike. This is our very first Gold Cup, a historic occasion for our football. If there are scouts watching the games, a few of our younger players might impress them. They could be interested in them and get a professional contract.
I went to Vibes Beach Bar to watch our matches against Trinidad & Tobago and the United States. Although the results were disappointing, overall the experience was great. We hope to advance further next time around!
Setting New Targets
Football is extremely important to me because it helps me work as a team member. It allows me to meet and interact with other people of different cultures and beliefs. The role that I see football playing in St. Kitts & Nevis society is one of creating togetherness and excitement as well as community spirit. Community spirit because each of the clubs represents an area of St. Kitts & Nevis, so when their team is playing, members of that community come to the matches to lend support to the team.
The sky's the limit with regard to football in my community and the country as a whole. Qualifying for the group stage of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup was our first target as a nation, so now moving forward we set the next target to qualify for the knockout stage. Each year we try to better our previous season as a community and a country.
Football has evolved immensely over the years, not only for the players who now have been getting opportunities to try out overseas but in refereeing as well. We can now boast about our 11 FIFA match officials, including two women. This is the most for a country of our size per capita. So I can say the future looks very bright for St. Kitts & Nevis football.
Quickfire Heritage Questions
What are the words or phrases/sayings that anyone from your country will know?
In football, we have a saying, “We small but we Tallawah!” meaning, yes, we are a small nation, but we can do big things on the regional and international scenes.
What are the most distinctive landmarks in your country?
Brimstone Hill Fortress, The Berkeley Memorial, Independence Square and even our Warner Park Football/Cricket Stadium, which hosted ICC World Cup cricket on more than one occasion.
What is your country most famous for?
St. Kitts & Nevis is most famous for the overall beauty of the island. The mountains, beaches, the warm smiling people, which is why we are able to host world class sporting events and the St. Kitts music festival. We have had the likes of Gramps Morgan, our homegrown artiste Byron Messiah, the Legendary Air Supply and the ever popular Afro sensation Burna Boy just to name a few.
What do you consider your most distinctive food dish?
Our national dish is stewed saltfish with spicy plantain and coconut dumplings.
If you could say “these three things symbolize our country and our people”, what would that be?
The World Heritage site, Brimstone Hill Fortress.
The peacefulness and beauty of this little island paradise.
The warmth and love of the people of the federation.
