Joshua Simon Kennet (born 27 September 1987) is an English-Israeli

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 ...

currently with London Lions.

Early and personal life

Kennet is

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish, and was born to a Jewish family in Camden, England. His father Eilon was born in Israel, and manages London Maccabi Lions A. Josh grew up in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

, and attended

Jewish Free School JFS (formerly known as the Jews' Free School and later Jewish Free School) is a Jewish mixed comprehensive school in Kenton, North London, England and was founded in 1732. Amongst its early supporters was the writer and philanthropist Charlot ...

(JFS) in

Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...

. He showed early signs of ability in most sports particularly in football. He represented London schools in football and athletics. Kennet's brother, Ricky, plays for London Lions and represented the United Kingdom at the 2007 European

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

in Rome, Italy. Kennet has also become an

Israeli citizen Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...

Playing career

After spells at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

from the age of 14 to 16, Kennet signed a 2-year YTS contract with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

. From the age of 16 Kennet was a regular in the reserve side for the following two years. Throughout this period Kennet captained the youth side. He was then given his first professional contract at the age of 18 by manager

Darren Patterson Darren James Patterson (born 15 October 1969) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional association football, footballer. As a player he was a Defender (association football), defender, notably playing in the Premier League ...

. On 1 January 2007 Kennet made his league debut for Oxford against

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. However, his first over-enthusiastic tackle earned him a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

, but minutes later Kennet redeemed himself by slotting a ball through for an assist for

Carl Pettefer Carl James Pettefer (born 22 March 1981) is an English footballer, who plays for Wimborne Town. Career Pettefer began his career at Portsmouth, signing his professional papers with then manager Alan Ball in August 1999 when aged 17. He made ...

. After the arrival of Jim Smith, opportunities in the first team were few and far between and Kennet spent most of his time on the bench and playing regularly for the reserves. When an opportunity for a loan spell at neighbouring Didcot Town arose, Kennet took the opportunity and finished the season as Didcot Town star player. In 2007, Kennet signed a 3-year contract for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i premier league club

Maccabi Herzliya Maccabi Herzliya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי הרצליה, ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Herzliya'') is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in and plays at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium. History ...

after impressing during a two-week trial. On 3 October 2008 Kennet was named to a preliminary list of 23 players to represent the United Kingdom at the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

. He played for the United Kingdom in Israel at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, and at the 2017 Maccabiah Games, winning a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennet, Josh 1987 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Camden English footballers Jewish footballers Association football midfielders Association football fullbacks Oxford United F.C. players Didcot Town F.C. players Maccabi Herzliya F.C. players Wingate & Finchley F.C. players London Lions F.C. players National League (English football) players Israeli Premier League players Liga Leumit players Isthmian League players Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Great Britain Maccabiah Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 2013 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games English Jews British emigrants to Israel English expatriate footballers

Early and personal life

Playing career

Career statistics

See also

References

External links