Person of the Year 2022

In 1927, the editors of TIME magazine began a tradition of naming a Man of the Year, now referred to as, “Person of the Year”. Since this tradition started many years ago, TIME Magazine has chosen several men and women, from presidents heads of states, groups and even the personal computer to bestow the title upon.

Many magazines and websites have since adopted this time-tested tradition, pun intended,  to highlight a person of influence in a respective field or within a country. The editors at Discoveranselaraye.com felt compelled this year to identify an “individual” from the community of Anse la Raye  who has had the most positive influence on the community for the year 2022 .

Discoveranselaraye.com therefore names the Anse la Raye Football Team as “Person of the Year”, 2022. 

The journey for these young men started when they had  to qualify to get into the Blackheart football tournament by virtue of the team losing heavily in the last Blackheart football competition the team had to get through the qualifiers  to get back into the  to main draw. 

With hardly a busload of supporters in attendance at that qualifying game, against Babonneau, the young men showed fight and determination to walk away with a result via the penalty shoot out route. Usually,  when a team comes from the qualifiers, they are seen as underdogs and are usually not seen as formidable enough to make it very far into the business end of the tournament, which is the semifinals and finals.

The team was later  drawn up against Mabouya Valley in the first round of the tournament. In that encounter, the lead was taken very early in the game, but Mabouya quickly equalized just before the end of the first half of the game. But Anse la Raye would go on to seal the game very late through a penalty and would move on to the next round where they would face four-time champion and at the time, defending champion Vieux-Fort South.

Vieux-Fort South vs Anse la Raye game had a nice build to it.  Fans from the various communities turned out in large numbers, despite it being a midweek encounter. Vieux-Fort South would go on to take the lead early in the game, but Anse la Raye kept on fighting to respond to Vieux Fort’s early goal in the first half. The Anse la Raye team returned in the second half with the same fight and determination and was awarded with an equalizing goal late in the match, through the head of Toyan William, fellow Vieux-Fort resident, who represented Anse la Raye.

The game would end 1-1, and was decided via penalties, where Anse la Raye would knock out the defending champions 8-7, and would now find themselves up against pretournament favourites, La Clery.

Semifinals night,  at the  Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Anse la Raye faced off La Clery and fans  turned out in large numbers with persons who had not been around in years turning out to watch the match – a much anticipated encounter.

The game was evenly fought throughout the ninety minute period, with both teams being careful with and without possession of the football. The game would eventually end in a stalemate and move on to another penalty shootout, where once again Anse la Raye would come out victorious 5-3 and sending fans up in a frenzy, knowing that Anse la Raye was moving onto the first finals since capturing the Blackheart title 11 years ago.

The week leading up to the finals, the talk at every barbershop, grocery shop, minibus was centered on how well the boys were performing and that they would definitely go on to win the tournament.  There was new energy in the atmosphere and a sense of pride from the people of the community.  Anse la Rayans took a keen interest in the training sessions and felt that the young men were ready to do battle against Dennery on Saturday, 29th of October. 

Fast forward, to finals night, Anse la Raye was dealt a major blow during the warm ups,  losing their main striker, McArthur Louis to injury. But the rest of the team remained focused and  confident throughout the warm ups in front of hundreds of the fans who came to witness.

Over into game time, it started off a little cagy- where teams surveyed each other to decipher each teams tactics and strategies. But, it would be Dennery who would strike first blood and leave Anse la Raye to chase the game. Anse la Raye consistently persisted to get a breakthrough, but ended the first half unable to reciprocate a goal.

At the resumption of the second half, Anse la Raye fought even harder to get onto the scorecards,  but the odds seemed to be  against them, leaving Dennery celebrating a 1-0 victory at the sound of the final whistle.

Though the Anse la Raye Football Team did not win the Blackheart Tournament, their fight and determination throughout, won the hearts of many. They became the people’s champion. With a team of young players with an average age of 25 years there is a lot more to look forward to from these young men who made themselves and their community proud. 

The passion, the drive, the determination and persistence exhibited by the team  and the ability to rally a community together is what we hope that our community of Anse la Raye  will emulate. From a team not having a bus of supporters to start,  to having insufficient buses  to transport fans to the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground is a magnificent feat This is why the editors of discoveranselaraye.com choose Anse la Raye’s 2022 football team as the “Person of the Year, 2022.”   

The editorial team of discoveranselaraye.com looks forward to having the input of its readers when we select  the Person of the Year for 2023. We once again congratulate the team for its efforts and wish them continued success as they play off in the semifinals when the Island Cup resumes in 2023.

Anse la Raye Football Team 2022

Keri Clery-  Midfielder

Sagat Ferdinand- Midfielder

Marcus Cherry- Defender

Erickson Reid Magloire- Midfielder

Samuel Cadette- Goal Keeper

Shanic John- Defender

Ray J Joseph- Forward

Dervaughn Charles- Midfielder

Toyan William- Defender

Johntae Seraphin- Forward

Javon Wilson- Midfielder

Georges Guillette- Defender

Zedan Augustin- Forward

Stefan John- Defender

Djal Augustin- Midfielder

Anthony Cadette- Forward

Hanson Frederick- Forward

Brandon Williams- Defender

Hayden Marius- Forward

Tarik Philip- Defender

Mc Arthur Louis- Forward

Stephan Longville- Defender, Captain

Sommers St. Croix- Coach