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Page 40
All things considered I am probably the only
player, or, one of less than a handful who
played for Iere, West Indies, and Magic (top
established) clubs in the Toronto and District
Soccer League.
When I started playing with Iere in ‘74 I found
out very quickly about the intense rivalry that
existed between West Indies United and Iere.
At first, I thought it was because Iere players
were mostly from Trinidad and United from
Jamaica, until I discovered that Iere was a
spin-off club from West Indies and added to
the cultural difference it created the split.
However, when I played for West Indies
under coach Lascelles Dunkley in ‘77 it was
serious soccer. We reached the final of the
Iere tournament only to lose to T&T Defense
Force and unfortunately I got injured.
Magic Athletic was another predominantly
Jamaican club which I joined a few years after
they appeared on the soccer scene in the
early 80s with a huge following. I played for
Magic club under coach Corsel Blair. Before I
left in midseason of ‘88, the team was
undefeated. After I left things fell apart in the
second half of the season because of the
same reason I left.
I rejoined Magic in the late 90s and enjoyed
every minute of it. We won Mello Over 40
League and as I look back at these three
great clubs I am convinced that I am truly a
part of the Caribbean fabric and so is Neville
“Bertis” Bell.
Back: C. Archer, A. Loney, U. Long, T, Devonish, J. Benjamin, I. Jones, K. Martin, Mid: R. Braithwaite, K. Hislop,
A. Baptiate, R. Austin, A. McGill, E. Ryan, Front: Devon, W. Hackett, N. Bell, J. Perryman, T. Devonish, C. Lewis