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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
FALMOUTH, Trelawny - Jamaican striker Teofore Bennett has started the Jamaican trek to Africa after signing what is believed to be a lucrative two-year contract with top Angolan club Petro Atletico Luanda after being sold from relegated Swedish team Osters IF where he played the last year and half. The 27-year-old Bennett left the island late last week for the African country and according to the BBC website, an Osters spokesman confirmed the move. "We have transferred Teofore Bennett to Petro Atletico of Angola," Osters spokesman Ola Ryden said. Sources close to the negotiations told the Observer Osters IF had asked a US$1-million fee for the transfer. The BBC website also reported that the club had also signed Kenyan striker Alan Wanga and Angolan international midfielder Nelo. The former Cedric Titus student, who played for Village United in the Jamaica Football Federation's National Premier League before moving to the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Second Division Harrisburg City Islanders, becomes the first Jamaican to sign a professional contract to play for an African club since an increased number of Jamaicans began plying their trade overseas after the nation's historic qualification to the France 1998 World Cup Finals. He will be eligible to represent Petro Atletico in the African Champions League, which gets underway in January. Bennett, who last played for the national team in November last year, against Peru at the National Stadium after scoring against the United States in a friendly played in South Carolina, had started negotiating with a Portuguese Second Division club Atletico, but said he thought the Angolan club was a better fit for him right now. In an interview with the Observer last month while he was in the island on a short vacation, Bennett, who is now sporting a dreadlocked hairstyle and a full beard, said he was looking forward to the move, describing it as "a real accomplishment", something he has been working towards for a long time.
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FALMOUTH, Trelawny - Jamaican striker Teofore Bennett has started the Jamaican trek to Africa after signing what is believed to be a lucrative two-year contract with top Angolan club Petro Atletico Luanda after being sold from relegated Swedish team Osters IF where he played the last year and half. The 27-year-old Bennett left the island late last week for the African country and according to the BBC website, an Osters spokesman confirmed the move. "We have transferred Teofore Bennett to Petro Atletico of Angola," Osters spokesman Ola Ryden said. Sources close to the negotiations told the Observer Osters IF had asked a US$1-million fee for the transfer. The BBC website also reported that the club had also signed Kenyan striker Alan Wanga and Angolan international midfielder Nelo. The former Cedric Titus student, who played for Village United in the Jamaica Football Federation's National Premier League before moving to the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Second Division Harrisburg City Islanders, becomes the first Jamaican to sign a professional contract to play for an African club since an increased number of Jamaicans began plying their trade overseas after the nation's historic qualification to the France 1998 World Cup Finals. He will be eligible to represent Petro Atletico in the African Champions League, which gets underway in January. Bennett, who last played for the national team in November last year, against Peru at the National Stadium after scoring against the United States in a friendly played in South Carolina, had started negotiating with a Portuguese Second Division club Atletico, but said he thought the Angolan club was a better fit for him right now. In an interview with the Observer last month while he was in the island on a short vacation, Bennett, who is now sporting a dreadlocked hairstyle and a full beard, said he was looking forward to the move, describing it as "a real accomplishment", something he has been working towards for a long time.
Complete Story ...