Taylor Benjamin (born March 27, 1990) is a Canadian-born
Guyanese former
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 ...
and was a member of the
Guyanese national football team.
Career
College and Amateur
Born in
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada, Benjamin attended
Woodroffe High School in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Ontario, played youth soccer with Ottawa Royals S.C. and FC Outaouais. He played one year of
OCAA soccer at
Algonquin College
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Ups ...
. After one season, he moved to
Limeira, Brazil to play for
Associação Atlética Internacional.
Professional
Benjamin signed his first professional contract when he signed for
Capital City F.C. in the
Canadian Soccer League (CSL) on May 18, 2011. He made his professional debut on 20 May 2011, in a 2–0 loss to
Toronto Croatia. In 2013, he signed with
Kingston FC, and assisted in securing the First Division title. He featured in the
CSL Championship
The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North ...
finals with Kingston, but fell short after losing to
SC Waterloo Region. In 2014, he played abroad in the
TT Pro League
The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...
with
Morvant Caledonia United
Morvant Caledonia United (formerly known as Caledonia AIA) is a professional football team in Trinidad and Tobago's top-level TT Pro League. It is based in Morvant; its home stadium is Hasely Crawford Stadium.
History
The Caledonia AIA Footba ...
, and later was transferred to
North East Stars
Athletic Club Port of Spain (previously known as North East Stars) is a Trinidad and Tobago professional football club, based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that plays in the TT Pro League. The team plays its home games at the Hasely Crawford S ...
.
In 2015, he returned to the CSL to play with
London City. For the remainder of the season he played abroad in the
Landesliga Bayern-Mitte with SV Fortuna Regensburg. He had a brief stint in the A-Klasse Bogen to play with SG Bogen. In 2016, he played in the
Bayernliga Süd
The Bayernliga (English: Bavarian league) is the highest amateur football league and the second highest football league (under the Regionalliga Bayern) in the state of Bavaria (german: Bayern) and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of ...
with TSV Bogen. He returned to the Landesliga Bayern-Mitte to sign with SV Neukirchen Hl. Blut for the remainder of the 2016–17 season. In 2017, he returned to play with SV Fortuna Regensburg.
International
On November 11, 2011, Benjamin was called up to
Guyana for their
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...
against
Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
. He made his international debut in the return-leg against
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
at
Hasely Crawford Stadium on November 15, 2011.
Honors
Kingston
*
Canadian Soccer League First Division: 2013
References
External links
CSL player profile
1990 births
Living people
Soccer players from Toronto
Sportspeople from Etobicoke
Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players
Kingston FC players
London City Soccer Club players
Morvant Caledonia United players
AC Port of Spain players
TT Pro League players
Canadian men's soccer players
Guyanese men's footballers
Guyana men's international footballers
Men's association football defenders
Canadian sportspeople of Guyanese descent
Black Canadian men's soccer players
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