Luton George Kieshawn Shelton (11 November 1985 – 22 January 2021) was a Jamaican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker or winger. At the time of his death, he was the top scorer for the Jamaica national team with 35 goals. He is also the only men's football player to score four goals in his international debut (2004). He earned 75 caps for Jamaica, and played at three CONCACAF Gold Cups. Shelton attended Wolmer's Schools and began his career in the youth system of Harbour View. In his international club career, he was part of championship sides in the 2006 Svenska Cupen and the 2008 Norwegian Cup. He also played in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Turkey, and Russia.

Club career

Harbour View

Shelton started his career in the Harbour View youth system before becoming a first regular by the age of 18. While at Harbour View he won the

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). ...

and the

National Premier League The Jamaica Premier League (formerly the National Premier League), commonly abbreviated as JPL and officially known as the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the ...

. He was also recognised as youth player of the year during his tenure.

Helsingborg

In August 2005 Shelton was due to move to

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

after a successful pre-season trial. They attempted to sign Shelton, but a work permit was rejected, and in August 2006 he joined

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

for about £100,000. During the 2006 season, he scored nine goals in 19 games in the Swedish

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

, despite playing only irregularly due to repeated injuries. He scored a total of 17 goals in 28 competitive matches, including five goals in four Swedish Cup matches on the way to Helsingborg's victory in the competition. His 120th-minute equaliser against to-be league champions Elfsborg in the quarter-final, which Helsingborg won 5–3 after a penalty shootout (4–4 after extra time), and the 1–0 goal in the final against Gefle, were two of his highlights at the club.

Sheffield United

Despite being signed amidst much fanfare, Shelton did not make his full début until April 2007 in a 2–0 loss to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

at Old Trafford. He made only three more appearances for the Blades in the Premiership that season as they unsuccessfully battled to avoid relegation. With the arrival of James Beattie and Billy Sharp at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

during the close season he found games no more easy to come by under new manager

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...

. Initially limited to cup appearances, he scored his first competitive goals for the club, netting twice in a 5–0 League Cup win over

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

in September 2007. As the team struggled he began to see more first team action, but was unable to turn appearances into goals, scoring only twice more that season, against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and Colchester in the league. With the arrival of new manager Kevin Blackwell Shelton was sidelined once more.

Vålerenga

On 24 July 2008, it was announced that Shelton had been sold to Norwegian side Vålerenga, playing in the Tippeligaen, for around £1m (10m kr). His contract was to last to the end of the 2011 season. Shelton made his debut on 2 August, scoring his side's lone goal in a 1–1 game at home against Fredrikstad FK. He was considered an attacking player with a speed advantage: he was the fastest player to run a 40m sprint in the Tippeligaen. He played in the 2008 Norwegian Cup, and was one of their top scorers in the 2010 Tippeligaen season with 12 goals. Shelton spent the 2009–10 season on loan to the Danish side Aalborg BK, playing 11 games. He was part of their squad for the 2008–09 UEFA Cup.

Karabükspor and Volga Nizhny Novgorod

On 4 August 2011, Shelton was transferred to Karabükspor. He played for two years, and chose to retain his jersey number 78 when he moved. In 2013, Shelton moved to Volga Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. The club suffered from financial issues during this period, and frequently missed payments to the players.

Harbour View return

In April 2015, Shelton went on trial with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

. Shelton returned to Harbour View at the beginning of 2017, after being out of the game for two years with injury, scoring in his first match on his return. This match was his last before retirement.

International career

Shelton was capped at the U-17, U-20, U-23 and national levels for

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He scored his 25th goal for Jamaica vs Guadeloupe. He is the only man to score four goals on his international début. In June 2008 he scored five goals in two 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying games for Jamaica against the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. Later the same month, he scored two goals as Jamaica won 7–0 and scored a hat-trick as Jamaica won 6–0. Shelton was also the top goal scorer in 2010 CONCACAF World Cup qualification matches with seven goals. On 31 January 2010, Shelton scored in a friendly match against Canada to equal Paul Young as Jamaica's all-time leading goalscorer with 28 goals. On 27 November 2010, Shelton became Jamaica's all-time leader scorer with 30 goals after scoring two goals versus Antigua. Jamaica shocked United States 2–1 on to seize the lead in their group in the semi-final round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF Zone. Goals from Rodolph Austin and Luton Shelton overcame Clint Dempsey's first-minute strike for the Americans as Jamaica posted their first victory over the US in 19 matches.

Personal life

Shelton had three children with his wife Bobbette. In 2018, it was announced that Shelton had ALS. He died from complications of the disease on 22 January 2021, aged 35.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Shelton goal.''

Honours

Harbour View * Caribbean Club Championship:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Helsingborg * Svenska Cupen:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Vålerenga * Norwegian Cup:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Aalborg BK *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

runner-up: 2008–09 Jamaica * Caribbean Cup:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

References

External links

*
Profile
at SUFC.premiumtv.co.uk
AaB profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Luton 1985 births 2021 deaths Jamaican men's footballers Footballers from Kingston, Jamaica Men's association football forwards Jamaica men's international footballers Jamaica men's youth international footballers Allsvenskan players Premier League players English Football League players Danish Superliga players Eliteserien players Russian Premier League players Süper Lig players Helsingborgs IF players Sheffield United F.C. players Vålerenga Fotball players AaB Fodbold players Harbour View F.C. players FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Jamaican expatriate men's footballers Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Neurological disease deaths in Jamaica Deaths from motor neuron disease Wolmer's Schools alumni