Haitian footballer (born 1994)
James "Jems" Geffrard (born 26 August 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back . Born in Canada, he plays for the Haiti national team .
Early life
Geffrard began playing futsal at age 12 and began playing football at age 14,[ 2] where he played youth soccer with CS Rivière-des-Prairies, before later joining the Montreal Impact Academy .[ 3]
Club career
Geffrard began his career in 2011 by signing with the Montreal Impact Academy , and competed in the Canadian Soccer League , and USL Premier Development League .[ 4] In 2016, he signed with the Impact's second team, FC Montreal , in the United Soccer League .[ 5]
In 2017, Geffrard left Canada to play for Ekenäs IF in Finland's second division.[ 6]
The following season he signed to play in the Veikkausliiga with Rovaniemen Palloseura .[ 7] [ 8] He joined on a one-year contract with an option for an additional season.[ 9] [ 10] He left the club after the 2018 season.[ 11]
In 2019, he joined Fresno FC in the USL Championship .[ 12] Geffrard made his debut for Fresno FC on 15 May 2019, in a U.S. Open Cup match against El Farolito Soccer Club .
Ahead of the 2020 season, he was set to attend training camp with the Montreal Impact , but ultimately did not attend.[ 13] On 18 February 2020, Geffrard signed with Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers .[ 14] [ 15] His contract with the Halifax-based club expired after the 2021 season.[ 16]
For the 2022 season, he played in the Quebec-based Première ligue de soccer du Québec with CS Mont-Royal Outremont .[ 17]
International career
Internationally, Geffrard represents the Haiti national team , and made his debut against Japan on 10 October 2017.[ 2] [ 18] In May 2019, he was named to the Haitian squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup ,[ 19] serving as one of the team's best players,[ 20] and helped Haiti upset his native Canada 3–2 in the quarter-finals.[ 21] [ 22] Geffrard also represented Haiti at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup .[ 23]
Honours
HFX Wanderers
References
^ "PLSQ Stats Archive" (in French). TSI Sports. Retrieved 16 January 2019 .
^ a b Petit-Clair, Benson (17 October 2017). "Interview: À la découverte du Grenadier Jems Geffrard" [Interview: Discovering the Grenadier Jems Geffrard]. Haiti Tempo (in French).
^ "Jems Geffrard, l'heureux exil d'un joueur de soccer québécois en Finlande" [Jems Geffrard, the happy exile of a Quebec soccer player in Finland]. Ici Radio-Canada Télé (in French). 9 May 2017.
^ "Six youngsters join the Montreal Impact Academy" . Montreal Impact . 13 December 2011.
^ "FC Montreal unveils its 2016 roster" . Montreal Impact . 1 March 2016.
^ Rosenblad, Helena (25 September 2017). "EIF:s Jems Geffrard spelar för Haitis landslag" [EIF's Jems Geffrard plays for Haiti's national team]. Yle (in Finnish).
^ Pikkupeura, Pasi. "Vahvistus Montrealista - RoPS kaappasi Jems Geffrardin" [Confirmation from Montreal - RoPS captured Jems Geffrard]. Rovaniemen Palloseura (in Finnish).
^ "Jems Geffrard till RoPS" [Jems Geffrard to RoPS]. Västra Nyland (in Swedish). 11 January 2018.
^ Rönkä, Otto (11 January 2018). "RoPS vahvistuu Haitin maajoukkuemiehellä: "Näimme lupaavia asioita" " [RoPS gets stronger with the Haitian national team player: "We saw promising things"]. Yle (in Finnish).
^ "Jems Geffrard RoPS:aan 1+1 vuoden sopimuksella" [Jems Geffrard to RoPS on a 1+1 year contract]. Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). 11 January 2018.
^ "Veikkausliigan siirrot talvella 2018-2019" [Veikkausliiga transfers in winter 2018-2019]. Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). 30 January 2019.
^ Geffrard, Childo (19 February 2020). "Foot – Transfert: Jems Geffrard est officiellement un joueur du FC Wanderers !" [Foot – Transfer: Jems Geffrard is officially a FC Wanderers player!]. Haiti Tempo (in French).
^ Jephté, Pierre Caleb (15 January 2020). "Foot – Transfert : Jems Geffrard pisté par des équipes allemandes !" [Foot – Transfer: Jems Geffrard tracked by German teams!]. Haiti Tempo (in French).
^ Gareth Hampshire (18 February 2020). "Wanderers get defensive know-how with Canadian-born, Haitian international Jems Geffrard" . HFX Wanderers FC . Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020 .
^ MacNeil, John (9 July 2020). "Amazing fan support one of the reasons Jems Geffrard signed with HFX Wanderers" . SaltWire Network .
^ Rhodes, Benedict (6 April 2022). "HFX Wanderers: 2022 Canadian Premier League Season Preview" . Canadian Premier League . Retrieved 4 October 2022 .
^ "Pro-PLSQ Équipe" [Pro-PLSQ Male Team]. CS MRO (in French). Retrieved 4 October 2022 .
^ Lawrence, Dylan (6 December 2020). "Wanderers' Jems Geffrard is ready for 2021: 'We have unfinished business' " . Canadian Premier League .
^ Burgess, Don (27 May 2019). "Haiti Announce Team For Concacaf Gold Cup" . Bernews .
^ Geffrard, Childo (21 July 2019). "Jems Geffrard: Les deux stats qui en font l'un des meilleurs défenseurs de la Gold Cup 2019 !" [Jems Geffrard: The two stats that make him one of the best defenders in the 2019 Gold Cup!]. Haiti Tempo (in French).
^ MacDonald, Glenn (1 June 2021). "Haiti national team calls up HFX Wanderers' Geffrard" . SaltWire Network .
^ Harris, Daniel (15 July 2021). "CA & C Cafe: One-On-One With Halifax's Jems Geffrard" . Northern Tribune .
^ Jacques, John (7 July 2021). "Telfer And Geffrard Reach 2021 Gold Cup" . Northern Tribune .
External links