Onandi Lowe (born 2 December 1974), also known as Nandi, is a Jamaican former

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

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 played in every outfield position, but was best known as a prolific

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He spent some of his career in the top flight Jamaica National Premier League as well as having stints in North America and England. He scored 27 goals in 65 international appearances and appeared at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. However, he found himself on the wrong side of the law with drugs in the latter part of his career, and has been described as "one of Jamaica's most controversial players". His son,

Damion Lowe Damion Lowe (born 5 May 1993) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a defender for Inter Miami and the Jamaica national team. Early life Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Damion Lowe is the son of former Jamaican international Onandi L ...

, is also a professional footballer. He started his career at Harbour View, before joining Canadian side Montreal Impact in 1996. He returned to Jamaica with Waterhouse the following year, before signing with American side

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

via Arnett Gardens in 1999. He then helped

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

to win the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

in 2000. He joined

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

the following year, and also had a brief spell on loan at English side

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. He did though sign with

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ke ...

in February 2002, and hit 49 goals in 90 league games for the club. He transferred to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

in March 2004, before returning to Jamaican side Arnett Gardens later in the year following his arrest by British police. He later played for

Portmore United Portmore United Football Club is a Jamaican football team in the top flight Jamaica National Premier League. The team trains and plays home matches at the Prison Oval. History Hazard United The club was formed as ''Hazard United'' and has bee ...

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

, and Arnett Gardens again, before he retired in 2008.

Club career

After leaving Dunoon Technical High in his hometown of Kingston, Lowe joined Harbour View, a top Jamaican club, in 1993. A big, versatile free-kick specialist who could play anywhere on the pitch and was known for his strong left foot, Lowe moved to Canada in 1996 to join Montreal Impact. He helped Impact to the

's Northeast Division final in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, scoring twice against

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

in the semi-finals. He returned to Jamaica after two seasons with Impact, joining Waterhouse and then Arnett Gardens. He moved back to the

with

, scoring 15 goals and gaining seven assists in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He played for

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and scored in the tournament's final, in a 3–1 win over

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its hom ...

Frontier Field Innovative Field (originally known as Frontier Field) is a baseball stadium located at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. It has been the home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The park opened ...

. In 2001, he tried his luck in Europe, joining

on loan for the end of the 2000–01 season. However his deal at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

was not made permanent after he quit the club when chairman Bill Bell refused to provide him with a car; when a reporter asked if he was upset about paying the wages of a player that had absconded, Bell replied "dunner worry kid, we won't be paying him". He scored twice for Port Vale, his first goal came against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in the

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; Vale would go on to win the

trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...

in his absence. He also scored once in the league against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

. He spent the rest of the year with new club

, and scored eight goals in 20 games. He joined

of the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

on loan in December 2001, and signed permanently with "Diamonds" in February 2002. He spent two years with the club; making close to 100 appearances and keeping a goal rate of better than one every two games he was a crowd favourite at

Nene Park Nene Park was a sports stadium situated at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England, along the bank of the River Nene, which could accommodate 6,441 spectators, with 4,641 seated and 1,800 standing. It formerly hosted football matches but at ...

. This record includes a hat-trick against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a Football pitch, football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town F.C., Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in ...

on 30 March 2002, as part of the club's run to the play-off Final, which ended in a 3–1 defeat to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

. He went on to score 16 goals in 42 games in 2002–03, as the club finished as the division's champions. Moving on to

in March 2004, he got off to a bad start with manager

Eric Black John Eric Black (born 1 October 1963) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. Black played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz, winning major trophies with both clubs, and earned two international caps for the Scotland nat ...

after failing to report for duty following an international game. He scored once against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

in two matches before he was released at the end of the 2003–04 season due to his ongoing drug trial. Returning to Jamaica with old club Arnett Gardens, he attempted to return to England with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

in March 2005 and ran into problems gaining a work permit; rejection for his permit also prevented him a move to

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 ...

later in the year. He started the 2006 season with

in the US, only to be released after a month because of disciplinary problems. After two years with

he rejoined Arnett in the Jamaica National Premier League during the January 2008 transfer window.

International career

Lowe made his debut for the

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 ...

in 1995. He went on to play at the

1995 Caribbean Cup The 1995 Caribbean Cup (known as the Shell Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh edition of the Caribbean Cup, the football championship of the Caribbean, one of the CONCACAF zones. The final stage was hosted by Jamaica and Cayman ...

, scoring in a 2–1 win over

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

at The National Stadium. He also scored at the

1996 Caribbean Cup The 1996 Caribbean Cup (also known as the Shell/Umbro Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons), was the 8th edition of the Caribbean Cup, the biennial football championship of the Caribbean region (CFU). It was held in Trinidad, where it began on 2 ...

, winning Jamaica's consolidation goal in a 3–1 defeat to

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

at the

Hasely Crawford Stadium The Hasely Crawford Stadium, formerly the National Stadium, is located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was inaugurated and formally opened by Prime Minister George Chambers on 12 June 1982. On 30 December 1996, Prime Minister Basdeo Pa ...

. He formed a prolific strike partnership with Walter Boyd in the "Reggae Boyz" "Road To France Campaign" in 1998, but then found himself in-and-out of the team for mainly disciplinary reasons. He played two matches at the 1998 World Cup, the 3–1 defeat to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and the 2–1 win over

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, after being selected by coach René Simões. He went on to score twice in his country's success at the 1998 Caribbean Cup, against

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

in a group win, as well as the only goal of the semi-final clash with

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

. He featured in

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

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, scoring against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

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 ...

in June 2001. He featured in the

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one c ...

, and scored and was then sent off in a 2–0 win over

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

at the

Miami Orange Bowl The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Downtown Miami. The Miami Orange Bowl was considered a landmark and served as the ho ...

. Jamaica went on to lose 5–0 to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

at the quarter-final stage. His last international was a March 2004 friendly match against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in which he also scored a goal. During his 2004 drug trial he was suspended from international duty and despite being cleared of the charges in 2005, the 31-year-old Lowe was not selected again. He earned 65

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for his country.

Legal troubles

Lowe was arrested by British police in April 2004 for trafficking £117,000 worth of

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

, he denied the charges. The exact charge was 'attempting to possess 1.17 kg (2.5 lb) of crack cocaine with intent to supply'. The

Prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

claimed he signed for the package under the fake name of "Kevin Brown" and intended to profit financially from knowingly trafficking the drugs. Lowe countered that the fake name was to avoid

paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

and that he had no idea about the contents of the package: "I am Jamaican, maybe you think differently. If I am a mate and you said, 'can you do that for me', I am not going to think anything bad of you." Lowe said in a police interview: "I thought he was a friend". In February 2005 he was cleared as the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. He was arrested and charged in

St Catherine St. Catherine or St. Katherine may refer to a number of List of saints named Catherine, saints named Catherine, or: Geography Canada *St. Catharines, a city in Ontario *St. Catharines (electoral district), federal *St. Catharines (provincial ele ...

in December 2007 for possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. He had been driving a car with 42 marijuana

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s, he posted the $300

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

and was released from custody.

Coaching career

After completing his JFF coaching certification, Lowe coached briefly with

August Town The August Town Football Club is a Jamaican football (soccer), football club, which currently plays in the KSAFA Major League, KASAFA Major League History The team has never won the National Premier League, in fact, the team was only promoted ...

in the

National Premier League The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it op ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Jamaica *

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Rochester Raging Rhinos *

Rushden & Diamonds *

: 2002–03

References

External links

*
Profile
an

at Rushden & Diamonds's official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Onandi 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Association football forwards Association football sweepers Association football midfielders Association football utility players Jamaican footballers Jamaica youth international footballers Jamaica international footballers Harbour View F.C. players Jamaican expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Canada Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Waterhouse F.C. players Arnett Gardens F.C. players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Richmond Kickers players Rochester New York FC players Sporting Kansas City players Expatriate footballers in England Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in England Port Vale F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Portmore United F.C. players Miami FC (2006) players A-League (1995–2004) players USL Championship players English Football League players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Jamaican football managers August Town F.C. managers National Premier League players