Shahdon Winchester facts for kids

Shahdon Shane Andre Winchester (born January 8, 1992 – died December 19, 2019) was a professional footballer from Trinidad and Tobago. He played as a winger for the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

Shahdon started his professional football journey in 2009. He was 17 years old and played for W Connection in his home country. During his time with W Connection, he helped them win the TT Pro League title in the 2011–12 season. In 2012, he was loaned to a Vietnamese club, Sông Lam Nghệ An, but could not play due to paperwork issues. Later, he played on loan for FF Jaro in Finland for two seasons, 2013 and 2014. After returning to Trinidad and Tobago, Winchester signed with the Mexican club Murciélagos in 2016.

He also played for the national team, making his first appearance in June 2010. Shahdon played in the 2011 Pan American Games. He scored his first goal for his country on March 19, 2016, in a friendly game against Grenada. A year later, he scored three goals (a hat-trick) against Haiti during a qualifying match for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Shahdon's Early Life and Football Start

Shahdon Winchester was born on January 8, 1992, in Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago. His parents were Derek and Svetlana. Shahdon loved football from a young age, thanks to his father. They often went to local matches together.

When Shahdon was 8, his father signed him up for the youth program at W Connection, a local club. Two years later, Shahdon's father sadly passed away in a car accident. Shahdon later said this event made him even more determined to become a professional footballer. His mother, Svetlana, made sure he could continue playing. She even learned to drive so she could take him to practice in Couva.

At 12, Shahdon started playing for Naparima College in San Fernando. In his five years there, he helped his team win the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) South Zone title four times. This included winning the national Intercol Big Five crown in 2007. In his last two years at Naparima, he was named one of the top five best players. In 2008, he scored 16 goals, leading the league, and was named Best Forward of the Year.

Shahdon's Club Career

Playing for W Connection

Starting His Professional Journey (2009–2012)

Shahdon Winchester joined W Connection as a professional player in 2009. He was 17 years old. In his first season, he scored four goals in seven league games. A big moment was playing for W Connection in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League.

Shahdon is a fantastic young talent, a real little star[...] If I had to make a comparison, I'd say Shahdon is like Dwight Yorke. He's got a lot of the same attributes. He runs at people, is super-strong, and loves scoring goals.

In the next season, he scored five goals in ten games. This led to him playing for the national team and getting trials with clubs overseas. He had a trial with Celtic in Scotland in 2010, where he scored two goals in a practice match. However, they couldn't agree on a deal. He also had trials with other clubs like Braga, FC Sevastopol, FC Dallas, and Colorado Rapids.

In January 2012, Shahdon went on a two-month loan to Sông Lam Nghệ An in Vietnam. But he couldn't play because his international paperwork arrived too late. After this, he returned to W Connection and helped them win their fourth Pro League championship in the 2011–12 season. He scored three goals that season. In March 2012, he scored two goals for W Connection, helping them finish second in the 2012 CFU Club Championship. This meant they qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League. After the season, he had a trial with FK Haugesund in Norway, but it wasn't successful.

Shahdon started the 2012–13 season as a regular player for W Connection. He played in three Champions League games. He then scored seven goals in seven matches in the Pro League. This included his first professional hat-trick on January 5, 2013, against Central FC. A week later, he went to Finland for a trial with FF Jaro and agreed to join them.

Playing on Loan for FF Jaro (2013–2014)

On January 25, 2013, Shahdon joined FF Jaro in Finland on a one-year loan. He scored a goal in his first game for Jaro, a league cup match against VPS. He scored another goal in the league cup with a penalty kick on February 20. However, after playing seven league cup games, he had surgery on his Achilles tendon on March 13.

Shahdon made his league debut for FF Jaro on May 5, 2013. He scored his first league goal on May 23 in a 2–1 win against FC Lahti. He scored two more goals in the next three games. He also scored in back-to-back matches in late June. On July 27, he scored two goals in a derby win against VPS. However, he missed the last six games due to illness and injuries. Before returning to Trinidad and Tobago in October 2013, he extended his loan with Jaro for another year. In his first season in Finland, Shahdon scored eight goals in the league and ten goals overall.

After his loan, Shahdon returned to W Connection for three months. He played in nine Pro League matches and scored five goals. He scored two goals against San Juan Jabloteh on January 21, 2014, and another goal against North East Stars four days later. Before going back to Finland, he scored two more goals on March 8 against St. Ann's Rangers. This helped W Connection win their fifth Pro League title.

On March 19, 2014, Shahdon rejoined FF Jaro for another one-year loan. He played his first game back on April 6. He scored his first goal of the season on April 19 against KuPS. In May 2014, he was named in the Veikkausliiga team of the month. He scored three goals in three games, helping Jaro reach third place in the league. He continued his scoring form in June with goals in two consecutive matches. By mid-season, he was one of the top goal scorers in the league with six goals.

On July 20, 2014, Shahdon scored his seventh goal of the season in a 5–0 win over FC Honka. By the end of the season, he had nine league goals, making him one of the top goal scorers. Jaro offered him a new contract.

Back with W Connection (2015–2016)

After his loan with FF Jaro ended, Shahdon returned to W Connection. He was close to signing with a club in Serbia, FK Vojvodina, but decided not to because of advice from FIFPro (a global union for players). In February 2015, he had a trial with Chicago Fire in the United States. In one match, he scored a goal in the last minute to tie the game. The Fire manager wanted to sign him, but the team already had too many players. Shahdon then returned to W Connection and helped them finish second in the 2015 CFU Club Championship. This qualified them for the next season's CONCACAF Champions League.

Shahdon started the 2015–16 season with W Connection. He changed his jersey number to 9 and became a vice-captain. In the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, he played in two group stage matches. He then scored four goals in the First Citizens Cup and TOYOTA Classic, helping W Connection win both tournaments. In the Pro League, he scored seven goals in the first half of the season. On February 24, 2016, he received his first red card in a match. He returned to score a goal in the semifinals of the CFU Club Championship, helping W Connection qualify for their second straight Champions League. However, he received another red card in the final match.

Playing for Murciélagos

On June 22, 2016, Shahdon Winchester and his former teammate Jomal Williams signed with Murciélagos, a Mexican club. This was before the start of the 2016 Apertura season.

Loan to Kapaz

On February 8, 2018, Shahdon joined Kapaz PFK on loan from Murciélagos F.C. until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Playing for SJK

After his contract with Murciélagos ended in July 2018, Shahdon Winchester signed with SJK on July 26, 2018. SJK announced that Shahdon left the club on November 30, 2018.

Shahdon's International Career

Shahdon Winchester played for Trinidad and Tobago at different levels. He represented the under-17, under-20, under-23 Olympic team, and the main national team.

Playing for Youth Teams

He started his international career with the under-17 team in 2008. They finished second in the 2008 CFU Youth Cup. Shahdon played in five games and scored two goals against Aruba. In April 2009, he started three games in the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

In November 2010, Shahdon scored three goals in four games for the under-20 team. This helped them qualify for the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. He played in two games in that tournament. Even though Trinidad and Tobago didn't qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the team played in the Pan American Games in October 2011. Shahdon scored a goal in his only game for the under-23 team against Uruguay. He scored two more goals in his next three games during the under-23 team's attempt to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Joining the Senior National Team (2010–2015)

Shahdon Winchester made his debut for the main national team on June 21, 2010, against Antigua and Barbuda. He was 18 years old. He was called up for three qualification matches for the 2010 Caribbean Cup, playing in a 4–0 win over Haiti. He didn't play for the national team again until June 2013, when he came on as a substitute in a friendly game against Romania.

In November 2014, Shahdon was called up for the 2014 Caribbean Cup in Jamaica. He started as a forward in their final group game against Cuba, which ended in a draw. He then played in two friendly matches against Curaçao and Jordan. He was named in the provisional squad for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but the manager did not select him for the final team.

Scoring His First International Goal (2016–2019)

After an injury to another player, Shahdon was added to the Trinidad and Tobago squad for a playoff game against Haiti in January 2016. He came on as a substitute in the 1–0 loss, which meant Trinidad and Tobago did not qualify for the Copa América Centenario. Shahdon scored his first international goal on March 19 against Grenada in a friendly match. Two months later, he played in three more games for the national team, including two starts as a striker, against Uruguay and China.

Shahdon's Death

Shahdon Winchester was one of four people who died in a car crash on December 19, 2019. The car they were in hit a utility pole in Gasparillo and caught fire. Everyone in the car was killed.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Friendly		Competitive		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Trinidad and Tobago	2010	1	0	1	0	2	0
	2011	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2012	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2013	1	0	0	0	1	0
	2014	0	0	1	0	1	0
	2015	2	0	0	0	2	0
	2016	5	1	4	0	9	1
	2017	2	1	6	4	8	5
	2018	0	0	2	0	2	0
	2019	1	0	1	0	2	0
Total		12	2	15	4	27	6

Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Winchester goal.

List of international goals scored by Shahdon Winchester

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 March 2016	Grenada National Stadium, St. George's, Grenada	8	Grenada	1–0	2–2	Friendly
2	8 January 2017	Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago	17	Haiti	1–0	3–4	2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification
3					2–1
4					3–3
5	6 October 2017	Estadio Alfonso Lastras, San Luis Potosí City, Mexico	21	Mexico	1–0	1–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	14 November 2017	Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago	23	Guyana	1–1	1–1	Friendly

Honours

W Connection

• TT Pro League: 2011–12
• Digicel Charity Shield: 2012
• First Citizens Cup: 2015
• TOYOTA Classic: 2011, 2015
• Lucozade Sport Goal Shield: 2009

FF Jaro

• Veikkausliiga Team of the Month: May 2014

Individual

• Man of the Match: 2011 TOYOTA Classic

See also

In Spanish: Shahdon Winchester para niños