Jason Roberts, born on January 25, 1978, in Park Royal, London, is an English-born Grenadian international football player. This tough centre-forward comes from a family of distinguished sports personalities, his three uncles, Cyrille Regis, David Regis, and Otis Roberts, played football for various clubs. He is also a relative of John Regis, a gold medalist athlete. Jason Roberts is married to Carly and resides in Cheshire, England.
Jason Roberts has won 25 international caps for the Grenada national team. During the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, though the team bowed out to the United States (U.S.), the performance was impressive and the contribution of Jason Roberts was significant. In the first qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup, Jason Roberts was the one to score the first two goals that helped the team beat the U.S. Virgin Islands 10-0 on March 26, 2008.
Similar to his uncle Cyrille Regis, Jason Roberts started his football career in England, and in the 1997-98 season, he played for Hayes in non-league matches. In September 1997, Wolverhampton Wanderers paid him £250,000 and picked him up. He soon moved on a loan to Torquay United and then to Bristol City. In August 1998, Jason Roberts joined Bristol Rovers, where he successfully partnered with Nathan Ellington, another English professional footballer, and made 38 goals in 83 league matches. In July 2000, he moved to West Bromwich Albion Football Club, and scored 21 goals in 44 leagues. In September 2003, he was sent on a season long loan to Portsmouth before he was bought by Wigan Athletic for a record fee of £2 million. At Wigan, he was again paired up with Nathan Ellington, and the two made the best of each other’s company. The season of 2004-05 had been quite successful for Jason Roberts, as he kicked 21 goals and positioned himself as the most-feared striker of the English Premier League. He was also the top scorer for Wigan in the Premiership when he made 8 goals. Jason Roberts will also be remembered for his last minute goal against Arsenal at Highbury in the Carling Cup semifinals played on January 24, 2006. His contributions helped Wigan to enter the first major tournament final. On July 3, 2006, he joined the Blackburn Rovers on a four year deal, and as of 2008, he has played in 28 matches for his club and scored 4 goals.
Jason Roberts has founded the Jason Roberts Foundation that aims to provide sporting facilities to the deprived youngsters and children in Grenada and the U.K. During his leisure time, he watches movies, plays video games, read books and magazines, and even plays guitar.
