In a few days, Jorel Bellafonte will make footballing history in Cayman as he tries out for a coveted position on Italian football team Parma Calcio 1913, a professional football club currently playing in Italy’s second tier level.
“I’m excited, yet humbled at this opportunity to represent my country, my family and myself,” Bellafonte told the Cayman Compass.
A dominating midfielder, Bellafonte, 27, currently plays for Cayman’s national men’s team and has already proven he can rise to the occasion.
On 9 Sept. 2019, during an intense CONCACAF Nations League matchup between Cayman and Barbados, playing on home soil in front of hundreds of fans, Cayman’s men’s team managed to hold off Barbados in a two-all tie, halfway through the second half of the game.
As anticipation filled the air, Bellafonte lifted the hopes of his teammates and supporters as he advanced from the midfield past the defenders and scored a decisive goal in the 74th minute – securing the win for Cayman.
This was his first international goal.
It was after that game that he was picked up by a scout, who asked him if he would be interested in playing professionally.
“I knew this was what I wanted, this is the dream, and so I didn’t hesitate. After all, I am confident in myself and my abilities,” said Bellafonte.
But before he could get his shot, COVID-19 hit.
“I honestly forgot about it for a moment, because it has been nearly two years since then,” he said. “But then, one day, I got a call from the same scout, who asked me if I was still playing football and if I was still interested in going pro and, of course, I was ready, because this is my second chance.”
Life before football
Although Bellafonte is a high-performing athlete, football wasn’t always his calling. In his earlier days, he was a track-and-field athlete who represented Cayman in middle-distance events.
“My favourite race was the 800m,” said Bellafonte, who also ran the 1,500 metres.
At age 19, he set Cayman’s national 800m indoor record with a time of 1:52:21 (on a standard indoor track) and, the following year, beat his own time by one second on an oversized indoor track.
This was on the heels of a junior career, during which he represented Cayman, his school in Jamaica, Calabar High School, and Clemson University in South Carolina, US, at various regional and internal meets.
“At that stage, I was poised for greatness, and earned a Nike junior athlete contract, that had the option of becoming more substantial as I progressed,” said Bellafonte.
However, a stress fracture caused those hopes to be dashed.
“I was so disappointed in myself, and felt as if I had let my family, my friends, and even my country down,” said Bellafonte, who went on to become a civil servant, and a former Cayman Islands Youth Ambassador to CARICOM.
A ‘second chance at living my dream’
“I realise that in this world, second chances don’t often come, and so for me to now have a second chance at living my dream of being a high-performing athlete, I’m grateful for every moment.”
If selected to play for Parma, Bellafonte would be the first Cayman Islands player to progress this far as a professional footballer, in any European league.
Bellafonte says, while he can’t be sure what will happen, or what lessons await, he is not nervous.
“Nervous? Why would I be nervous when I know I am great? Flowers don’t pick themselves, and I am the chosen one.”
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