Jayce Lee Mascarenhas-Olivero (born 2 July 1998) is a Gibraltarian

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 le ...

who plays as a defender for

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

. He is member of the

Gibraltar national football team The Gibraltar national football team represents Gibraltar in international football competitions, and is controlled by the Gibraltar Football Association. Gibraltar applied for full UEFA membership and was accepted by the UEFA Congress in May ...

, having played at every youth level since Gibraltar joined

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

in 2013.

Club career

Olivero is a product of the Lions Gibraltar youth academy, and broke into the team during the 2014-15 season at the age of 16. In summer 2015 he had a trial at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

to gain experience of professional training. He returned to the revamped Lions team for the coming season and became a regular in the side, playing an important role as the previous season's bottom side made an early challenge for European qualification. In February 2016, he had a short trial at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, playing in a youth team game watched by scouts from other professional teams, before returning to Gibraltar. In 2016, he moved to Abingdon United for the duration of his studies. In his first season at the club, he helped them to second in the Hellenic League Division One West, and promotion. For his efforts, Olivero was voted Supporters' Player of the Season. After suffering relegation in 2019, it was announced that Olivero had signed for

back in Gibraltar on 15 May 2019, joining officially in time for the club's

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

campaign. He made his debut in the

2019–20 UEFA Europa League The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Sevilla defeated Inter Milan in the fina ...

preliminary round against

UE Sant Julià Unió Esportiva Sant Julià, also known as UE Sant Julià, is an Andorran football club based in the parish of Sant Julià de Lòria. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió. History Founded in 1982 UE Sant Julià is the main football club ...

on 27 June.

International career

He made his debut for the

aged 17 years and 264 days on 23 March 2016, starting in a goalless draw against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

at the Victoria Stadium - making him the territory's youngest UEFA era player at the time until

Dylan Borge Dylan Borge (born 15 October 2003) is a Gibraltarian semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for Europa and the Gibraltar national football team. International career Borge made his international debut for Gibraltar on 27 March 20 ...

broke his record in March 2021. His addition into a five-man defence by manager Jeff Wood allowed the formerly defensive

Joseph Chipolina Joseph Louis Chipolina (born 14 December 1987) is a Gibraltar international footballer who plays for Glacis United of the Gibraltar Football League, on loan from Lincoln Red Imps as a left back or left winger. He is his nation's third most ...

to attack. In the 69th-minute, shortly after being booked, Olivero was substituted for Jeremy Lopez. In October 2020, he was named captain for the first time, against

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

.Special football feature - Turning Pro – Jayce Olivero explains how it’s not just a dream but a reality
Gibraltar Chronicle. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.

International statistics

Honours

;Abingdon United *

Hellenic Football League The Hellenic Football League, currently known as the Uhlsport Hellenic Football League for sponsorship reasons, is an English men's football league covering an area including the English counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buck ...

Division One West - Promotion: 2016–17 *Supporters' Player of the Season: 2016–17 ;Europa *Football Gibraltar Young Player of the Season: 2019–20

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olivero, Jayce 1998 births Living people Gibraltarian footballers Association football defenders Gibraltar international footballers Gibraltarian expatriate footballers Abingdon United F.C. players Lions Gibraltar F.C. players Gibraltar Premier Division players Gibraltar under-21 international footballers Gibraltar youth international footballers