Zephaniah Joseph Thomas (born 14 November 1989) is a

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 ...

and manager of Dearne & District and former

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

international. He is a former

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

youth player who has also played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with many clubs including Harrogate Town and Rossington Main, while also having an intermediate spell in the United States. Before he turned professional joining Belgian club Montegnée followed by a spell in

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

with

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

. He then moved to North America for a second time playing for Canadian side

Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Chill Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer pyramid from 2000 to 2024. The team plays its home ...

before returning to English football.

Club career

Early career

Thomas who was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

started his career as a youth player at

but left the club in 2008 having not appeared for the senior team. Following his release he joined

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

side Ilkeston Town. After spending a few months with them he moved on to Emley before joining Harrogate Town. While at the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

side he was loaned out to local club

Harrogate Railway Athletic Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Station View. History The club was established in 1935 by employees of the London and Nort ...

. He then moved to the United States with fellow Englishman Jason Stokes to study at

Garden City Community College Garden City Community College (Garden City CC or GCCC) is a public community college in Garden City, Kansas. It was established in 1919 to provide a means for post-secondary education for area residents. The school initially shared facilities i ...

while playing for their soccer team. However things didn't work out and he returned to England. Thomas then played for Parkgate before leaving them to join Rossington Main in November 2010. At the start 2011–12 season he joined

Stocksbridge Park Steels Stocksbridge Park Steels Football Club is an English association football club based in Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire. They currently compete in the . The club was formed in 1986 after a merger between two clubs, and uses a yellow and blue hom ...

for a short period before rejoining Rossington Main who he went on to make twenty appearances for, scoring ten goals. In December 2012, he signed a full-time professional contract with Belgian side Montegnée having been spotted by scout Simon O'Neill. He played his last game for

Northern Counties East Football League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football pyramid respectively. ...

side Rossington on 2 January 2012 against Appleby Frodingham before moving to Belgium. After six months with the Belgian Promotion D team, Thomas returned to England and was again looking for a new club while playing

Sunday league football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain, Ireland and Australia to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term ''pub league'' may also be used, owing to ...

with Swinton WMC.

Cowdenbeath

On 22 August 2012, Thomas joined

side

. He signed a one-year contract with the recently promoted side following a trial. He made his first appearance for the club just three days later at home to

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

, coming off the bench as a substitute. After just a month with the club having made just three substitute appearances, he was selected by the Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team. His only start came against league leaders

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a Association football, football and former rugby union, rugby league and Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhil ...

, with Cowdenbeath suffering a 2–1 defeat. Cowdenbeath boss Colin Cameron placed Thomas on the transfer list in early January 2013 and only a matter of days later he was released by club. After leaving Cowdenbeath, Thomas started working in a call centre.

Thunder Bay Chill

In March 2013, it was announced Thomas had agreed to join Canadian side

. Thomas linked up with his new club in May 2013 but was ruled out of

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

due to a groin injury. He also missed the opening games of the season against

WSA Winnipeg FC Manitoba is a Canadian association football, soccer team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club was founded in 2010 as WSA Winnipeg. In 2020, the club was acquired by a new ownership group and re-organized and branded as FC Manitoba. The team p ...

. On 1 June, he made his début for Thunder Bay in 2–0 victory over

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The Menace have had sustained success in USL Lea ...

at Fort William Stadium. In the next match versus

St. Louis Lions St. Louis Lions was an American association football, soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team played its home games at ...

which Thunder Bay won 3–0, Thomas provided an assist for teammate Sunny Omoregie to score. He set up a further two goals for his colleagues against Springfield Demize and Kansas City Brass. Thomas got his only goal for Thunder Bay in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Sheffield

Thomas returned to England following the expiration of his contract with Thunder Bay Chill and trained with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. His international clearance was delayed and therefore missed out on the chance to play for their reserve side. Ian Whitehorne, manager of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

who play in the

Northern Premier League Division One South The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

, invited him for a trial. Thomas scored in his trial match and ultimately signed for the club at the beginning of September 2013.

Boston United

In October 2014, Thomas was offered a trial with

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

having scored twice for his national side in September. In the trial he played for the Pilgrims' under-21 side against Horncastle Town, scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

. He joined the

side on non-contract terms days later.

2016 onwards

In October 2016 he re-signed for Rossington Main from Mickleover Sports, having been with the latter since 2015. He scored on his third debut, against Grimsby Borough in the

on 15 October 2016, but the spell with The Colliery was short-lived as he returned to Mickleover Sports in time for the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

game at Leamington on 29 October 2016. He transferred to Shaw Lane in February 2017,

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include ...

in March 2017 and

Frickley Athletic Frickley Athletic Football Club is a football club based in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Westfield Lane. History The club was formed on 30 July 1908, and became a member of the South Yorkshire Lea ...

later that same month. On 18 August 2017, he was brought back to Mickleover Sports once again. He made his debut for fellow Derbyshire club

Glossop North End Glossop North End Association Football Club is a football club in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, which competes in the . The club was founded in February 1886. Between 1899 and 1992 the club was officially known as Glossop. Their current home gr ...

on 28 October 2017. In February 2018 he signed for Campion of 10th tier

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football pyramid respectively. ...

Division One, before relocating to

neighbours and league rivals Eccleshill United shortly after. He made his debut at home against AFC Emley on 21 March 2018. Prior to the 2018–19 Northern Premier League Division One West season, Leek Town announced his signature. He come off the bench in the 71st minute as Leek Town won the season opener at

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the Liverpool County Premier League and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool Count ...

on 18 August 2018. On 29 September 2018 he made another debut, for Brighouse Town of the Division One East, away at Glossop North End. He spent the remainder of the season with Town, before moving south to

Belper Town Belper Town Football Club is a football club based in Belper, Derbyshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Christchurch Meadow. The club are nicknamed the "Nailers" due to the town's nail-making industry. History The club ...

of the – after a division restructuring – neighbouring Division One South East in June 2019. Later that year, he returned to Rossington Main. He joined

for the third time in February 2020. Later on in the year he joined North Yorkshire side Selby Town. In December 2020, he returned to former club Brighouse Town. In July 2023, Thomas signed for Ossett United who joined the club in the role of player-coach. In August 2024, Thomas joined Dearne & District as First Team Manager.

International career

Thomas got in touch with the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association to make them aware of his eligibility through contact Des Hazel, a former St. Kitts international. The FA reviewed some footage of Thomas and in September 2012, Thomas received an international call-up from

to represent them in the

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was an association football competition organized by CFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from the Caribbean. The tournament was held from 1989 to 2017, as the direct successor competition of the ...

. Despite having been born in England, he was eligible for Saint Kitts and Nevis due to his grandfather. He made his international début in a 2–0 victory over

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

. He started again in the following match against group favourites

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

with the match ending in a 1–0 defeat.

Career statistics

International

Saint Kitts and Nevis goal tally first.

References

External links

Boston United official profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Zephaniah 1989 births Living people Saint Kitts and Nevis men's footballers Saint Kitts and Nevis men's international footballers English men's footballers Footballers from Bradford Men's association football forwards Rotherham United F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players Emley A.F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C. players Parkgate F.C. players Rossington Main F.C. players Stocksbridge Park Steels F.C. players R.R.F.C. Montegnée players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Thunder Bay Chill players Sheffield F.C. players Mickleover F.C. players Scarborough Athletic F.C. players Matlock Town F.C. players Goole A.F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Frickley Athletic F.C. players Shaw Lane A.F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Glossop North End A.F.C. players Campion A.F.C. players Eccleshill United F.C. players Leek Town F.C. players Selby Town F.C. players Brighouse Town F.C. players Ossett United F.C. players Scottish Football League players USL League Two players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent Black British sportsmen English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada English expatriate men's footballers 21st-century English sportsmen