Neil Tevin Michael Benjamin, Jr. (born 20 August 1994) is a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

professional

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 ...

who plays as a winger for

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

club

W Connection W Connection Football Club is a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, which currently plays in the TT Pro League. The club plays its home games at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. The club's offices are based at the Point Lisas Industria ...

. Benjamin began his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

football career in 2011, at the age of 17, with

in his native

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. During his time with the ''Savonetta Boys'', Benjamin has won the

title twice and the FA Trophy in 2013–14.

Early life

Benjamin was born in

Couva Couva is an urban town (48,858 in 2011 census) in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando and Point Fortin. It is the capital and main urban centre of Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, and the Greate ...

, Trinidad and Tobago, to parents Neil Sr. and Charlene. In primary school, Neil discovered at an early age that he had a talent for his speed on the track. However, his focus would soon transition to football and credits his father and uncles, Glen and St. Nicholas, for his passion for the sport. At the age of 7, Benjamin enrolled in the youth program at

club

– based in his hometown of

. Benjamin attended

Naparima College Naparima College (informally known as Naps) is a public secondary school for boys in Trinidad and Tobago. Located in San Fernando, the school was founded in 1894 but received official recognition in 1900. It was established by Dr. Kenneth J. G ...

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

, Trinidad and led the team to the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) South Zone title in 2010. He later scored the lone goal in a 3–1 loss to St. Augustine Secondary, which witnessed ''Naps'' eliminated from the national Intercol Big Five competition. In 2011, Benjamin was the joint-leading goal scorer with 10 goals in the under-17 reserve league while playing for

and was named the most valuable player in the under-18 reserve league the following season.

Club career

W Connection

After several seasons in the club's youth program, Benjamin was promoted to the first-team in 2011, at the age of 17, with

of the

. Prior to his

football debut with the ''Savonetta Boys'', Benjamin and former

teammate Shahdon Winchester received a ten-day trial with

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

of Major League Soccer in June 2011. Upon his return to

, Neil featured in five league matches and took part in the club's fourth Pro League

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. Following the season, Benjamin helped W Connection finish runners-up in the

2012 CFU Club Championship The 2012 CFU Club Champions’ Cup was the 14th edition of the CFU Club Championship, the annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Foot ...

and earn a place in the

2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League The 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League was the 5th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 48th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of Nor ...

. In September 2012, Benjamin traveled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for a trial with

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

. During his first week, he drew serious interest from Genoa after impressing the club with his speed and had his stay extended. However, the trial proved unsuccessful and Neil was ultimately released to rejoin

in November. Afterwards, Benjamin went on to enjoy an active second

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

with the ''Savonetta Boys'' after scoring four league goals and five in all competitions, including his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

as a professional in a 4–0 win over eventual Pro League champions Defence Force on 6 May 2013. Neil opened the 2013–14 season as a regular substitute for

playing primarily as a right-wing forward. During the

2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League The 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 49th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of Nor ...

, Benjamin made appearances in each of the ''Savonetta Boys four group stage matches. On 8 August 2013, he came on for Mekeil Williams in the 62nd minute and later scored W Connection's lone goal of the competition in a 3–1 loss to Árabe Unido. Two weeks later, Benjamin started in a scoreless draw at home against the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. During the match, Neil had two late match-winning opportunities with one "horrific" open net miss and another shot hitting the

crossbar Crossbar may refer to: Structures * Latch (hardware), a post barring a door * Top tube of a bicycle frame * Crossbar, the horizontal member of various sports goals * Crossbar, a horizontal member of an electricity pylon Other * In electronic ...

. Benjamin later had an impressive series of performances in the TOYOTA Classic and FA Trophy competitions. On 18 December, he was named the most valuable player of the FA Trophy final after scoring the tying goal to send the match into a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

and lead the ''Savonetta Boys'' to the club's first FA Trophy crown in 11 years. Afterwards, Benjamin experienced a dip in form with his lone league goal scored on 10 January 2014 in a narrow 2–1 win over

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

. He concluded his third season with

with a string of substitute appearances to help lead the club to its fifth Pro League title and second in three years.

International career

Benjamin has represented

on various levels of international competition, having been

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for the under-17 and under-20 national teams.

Youth teams

He began his international career for the under-17 team during

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the

2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship The 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship determined the four CONCACAF representatives to advance to the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Jamaica staged the championship between 14 and 27 February. The United States defeated Canada 3–0 in the fi ...

, where he made two starts in the

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

for the ''Soca Warriors'' against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

. He made a further second-half substitute appearance in the team's final group match against

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

to help Trinidad and Tobago top their qualification group. In February 2011, during the continental competition, Benjamin started in consecutive matches against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and Guatemala. However, in the quarterfinals, the ''Young Warriors'' were eliminated from the competition following a 2–0 defeat to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In August 2012, Benjamin made consecutive starts as a defender for the under-20 team during their first round of

for the

2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2013 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place between February 18 and March 3, 2013. The CONCACAF U-20 Championship determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2013 FIFA U-20 Wo ...

. However, he was forced to miss the ''Soca Warriors win against

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

after receiving two

yellow cards 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 ...

in each of the previous two matches. In November 2012, under-20 team managers

Hutson Charles Hutson Brent Charles (born 16 September 1965) is a Trinidadian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Charles is also known as "Baba". As a player, he represented Defence Force. Charles participated in Trinidad's 1990, 1994 and 1998 FIF ...

and Ross Russell complained to Benjamin's parent club

concerning the timing of the player's trial with

club

and subsequent decline in form on international duty. As a result, Benjamin was left out of the squad for the team's

final round A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of qualification.

Career statistics

Club

:''As of 23 May 2014''

References

External links

Neil Benjamin
at TTProLeague.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Neil 1994 births Living people Men's association football forwards Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers TT Pro League players W Connection F.C. players Nam Định F.C. players Footballers at the 2015 Pan American Games People educated at Naparima College