Diel Spring

Diel Spring
Personal information
Full name Diel Reon Spring
Date of birth (2000-12-26) 26 December 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Chateaubelair, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 North Leeward Predators
Youth career
North Leeward Predators
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 North Leeward Predators
2020–2021 Wisła Sandomierz [pl] 11 (0)
2021–2022 Podlasie Biała Podlaska 31 (2)
2023– North Leeward Predators
International career‡
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines U17[1]
2018 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines U20 5 (0)
2018– Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 29 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 September 2024

Diel Reon Spring (born December 26, 2000) is a Vincentian footballer who plays as a midfielder for North Leeward Predators and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national team.

Early years

Spring hails from the village of Chateaubelair.[2][3] His mother is a chef and his father is a construction worker while his grandparents were farmers.[4]

Spring led St Martin’s Secondary School to a junior division title in the 2015 Secondary Schools’ Football Competition, scoring a brace in the final.[5] The following year he was named best midfielder of the Barrouallie Football League under-17 division as a member of the North Leeward Predators youth set-up.[6]

He also participated in sports such as athletics and cricket.[4]

Club career

During the 2017 season in the second-tier SVGFF First Division, Spring helped the Predators finish the regular season undefeated and reach the championship final,[7] where he scored the opening goal of the match as they defeated Largo Height via penalty shoot-out.[8] He was nominated for Youth Male Player of the Year at the 2017 National Football Awards.[9] That same year, he and future international teammate Joel Quashie were chosen as the winners of a Caribbean Football Union- and Manchester United-backed skills-based competition for young talents, earning invitations to a talent development camp in Trinidad and Tobago.[3][10]

The next season, Spring captained the Predators to a runner-up league finish in the SVGFF Premier Division and a Knock Out Cup title.[11] He recorded a brace against Bequia United in week 10,[12] and repeated the feat against System 3 in week 17. He finished the season with a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Largo Height on the final match-day. At the end of the year he was named Best Midfielder at the National Football Awards.[11][13]

In the summer of 2020, he signed a deal with Wisła Sandomierz [pl] in the Polish III liga.[14][15] He admits his time at the club was not ideal, having only played a few matches due to injuries and other problems.[4]

On 26 July 2021, Spring moved to another III liga side, Podlasie Biała Podlaska.[16] Here he was coached by Rafał Borysiuk, brother of Ariel Borysiuk.[4]

International career

Youth team

In November 2018, he represented the national under-20 team at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, playing in all five matches.[2][17]

Senior team

On 8 September 2018, Spring made his debut for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the qualifying rounds of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League against Nicaragua.[11] He came on as a halftime substitution for Wendell Cuffy in the 2–0 defeat at home. He was called up again later that month, earning his second international cap three weeks later during a friendly against a Barbados XI made up mostly of under-20 players preparing for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. He came on after halftime yet again, this time for Brad Richards, in the 1–1 draw.[18] He made two further appearances in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying to finish the year.

In February 2019, Spring was named to the 20-man squad selected to play at the 2019 Windward Islands Tournament on home soil.[19] He played in all four matches as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won their fifth title.[11][20]

Career statistics

International

As of matches played 8 September 2024.[21]
National team Year Apps Goals
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2018 4 0
2019 10 0
2021 4 0
2022 1 0
2023 3 1
2022 7 1
Total 29 2

Honours

Club

Fitz Hughes Predators
  • Knock Out Cup: 2019[11]
  • SVGFF First Division: 2017[8][22]

Individual

  • SVGFF Best Midfielder: 2019[11]
  • SVGFF Youth Male Player of the Year: 2017

International

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

References

  1. ^ "SVG confident ahead of U17 play-offs". iWitness News. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b Diel Spring at Global Sports Archive
  3. ^ a b "FLOW puts Vincy youth footballers in play for ManU trip". iWitness News. April 24, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Szymula, Piotr. "Diel Spring: „Agent rozesłał video do klubów z Polski. Dlatego dostałem szansę" [WYWIAD]". iGol (in Polish). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. ^ "St Martin's Secondary break football title drought". The Searchlight. newsmemory.com. December 22, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "Barrouallie Football League Concludes". The Vincentian. November 25, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2017". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "North Leeward Predators: National First Division Football Champs". The Vincentian. June 30, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "2017 National Football Awards set for Wednesday". Sport Caraibe. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "Leeward youths win FLOW skills-based competition". The Searchlight. April 25, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Diel Spring signs with new club". The Vincentian. Issuu. August 7, 2020. p. 20. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "Premier Division Football Heating Up". The Vincentian. January 25, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Top Footballers/Officials Rewarded". The Vincentian. November 15, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  14. ^ "Diel Spring in Poland's football setup". The Searchlight. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  15. ^ "3 liga. Ciekawy transfer Wisły Sandomierz. Zagra w niej Diel Spring, reprezentant Saint Vincent i Grenadyny". gol24.pl (in Polish). July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "Diel Spring w Podlasiu Biała Podlaska". Słowo Podlasia (in Polish). 27 July 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Things Looking Up For U-20 Footballers". The Vincentian. November 16, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  18. ^ "SVG draw with Barbados XI". Caribbean Football Database. September 30, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  19. ^ "Vincy Heat ready for WIFA challenges". The Searchlight. February 26, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Vincy Heat Takes Windwards Title". The Vincentian. March 15, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  21. ^ Diel Spring at National-Football-Teams.com
  22. ^ "North Leeward Predators take national First Division football title". The Searchlight. June 30, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.