Kenwyne Jones, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, is a professional football player, who plays as a striker. He was born on October 5, 1984, in Point Fortin, to Lydia and Pamphile. He is the nephew of Philbert Jones, a former football player, who was a part of the Trinidad and Tobago national team that came very close to qualify for the 1990 World Cup. Kenwyne Jones is married to Avalon and has three children, Isaiah and a twin pair, Arianne and Kaelyn.
Kenwyne Jones started his international football career playing for the Under-17 level and progressed successively to the Under-20 and the Under-23 levels of the Olympic squad. He ultimately made it to the Trinidad and Tobago national team and debuted for it on January 29, 2003 in a game against Finland. He was named in the 2006 World Cup squad and played his first match of the tournament on June 15, 2006 against England. In 2007, Kenwyne Jones was named the ‘Player of the Year’ by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation.
Kenwyne Jones started his professional football career with Joe Public, a football club in Trinidad and Tobago, in 2002 and soon moved to W Connection, a local club, with which he played for two years. In July 2004, following a trial with Southampton, Kenwyne Jones signed with the club for a nominal fee and developed into a striker from being a utility player. He was loaned to Sheffield Wednesday in December 2004 for which he scored an impressive seven goals in seven games. He returned to Southampton in January 2005 to play against Liverpool and Portsmouth. During the last pre-season match of 2006-07, Kenwyne Jones scored a hat-trick against Anderlecht. In the Football League Championship of that season, in a match against Birmingham City on November 29, he scored two goals and followed it up with two more against Southend United. The team’s 4-1 victory in the latter match helped it earn a place in the club’s Championship play-offs. While his stint with the club, Kenwyne Jones went on loan to Stoke City, for which he played 13 matches and scored 3 goals. After appearing in 71 matches and scoring 19 goals to his credit, he completed his tenure with the club.
On August 29, 2007, Kenwyne Jones signed with Sunderland in a deal worth £6 million. He debuted for the club in the following month against Manchester United and scored his first goal on September 15th, in a 2-1 victory over Reading. Adding a fifth goal to his credit was the header that Kenwyne Jones scored by the end of that year in a match against Bolton, which Sunderland won 3-1. For his commendable performances, he was rewarded the Player of the Season title for the 2007-08 season.
George Burley, the Southampton manager, has compared Kenwyne Jones to Didier Drogba, an Ivorian footballer and the top-scorer in the Premier League, 2006-07 with 20 goals. He also stated that his athleticism, pace and power in the air are his strengths.
