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Rai Simons
Rai Quinton Arthur Simons (born 11 January 1996) is a Bermudian professional footballer who plays as a striker. He has been capped six times, and scored one goal for the Bermuda national team in FIFA recognised matches. He was joint-top goal scorer at the 2013 Island Games Men's Football Tournament with three goals. Club careerSimons started his career at North Village Rams as a youth player.[2] At the age 15, Simons had trials and spent a week training with Premier League club West Ham United,[2] before he eventually signed for Newcastle Town.[3] He was part of the Newcastle Town under-18 team that won the Sentinel Cup in a record 8–1 win over Alsager Town at the Britannia Stadium, scoring with an "unstoppable shot" having replaced Callum Kenny in the 57th minute as a substitute.[4] He went on to join English Northern Premier League club Ilkeston in summer 2013,[5] signing a two-year contract with the club.[6] During his time at Ilkeston, Simons played for both the academy and first team sides, before attracting interest from a number of Football League clubs.[7] He was a key member of the Ilkeston team which reached the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off final in the 2014–15 season.[8] In April 2015, it was announced that Simons had joined League One club Chesterfield.[8][9][10] He scored his first Chesterfield goal in a pre-season friendly against his former club Ilkeston, which had been arranged as part of the transfer deal.[5] Simons made his professional debut on 26 September 2015 as a 66th-minute substitute in Chesterfield's 2–1 home defeat to Burton Albion.[11] He scored his first professional goal on 10 October in Chesterfield's 3–1 home defeat to Gillingham.[11] International careerSimons played for Bermuda under-17's in their unsuccessful 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship qualifying campaign in July 2012.[12] Whilst studying as a student at Newcastle-under-Lyme College, Simons was selected to represent the English Colleges under-17's in January 2013 at the Caput Mundi Tournament in Italy.[13] Simons went on to represent Bermuda, the only FIFA affiliated side at the 2013 Island Games. Bermuda went on to win men's football tournament, with a 1–0 win over Greenland on 15 July 2013 at Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton.[14] Simons scored three goals during the competition, leaving him as joint-top goal scorer along with five other players.[15] In April 2015, he was then called up to the Bermuda under-20's squad for their 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying campaign.[10] He scored a hat-trick in the group match against Guadeloupe under-20's on 24 June 2014 at Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal.[16][17] Simons was called up and made his full international debut for Bermuda against Grenada, in a FIFA sanctioned match, on 7 March 2015 in a friendly.[18] The match finished 2–2, with Simons scoring on his debut before being substituted in the 81st minute for Antwan Russell.[12][19] Following his success in two friendlies against Grenada, Simons was called up again to face the Bahamas in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification first round matches.[2] He played in both matches, with Bermuda winning 8–0 on aggregate.[12] Personal lifeSimons moved to England when he was 15 and stayed with his cousin, Dale Eve and sister, Taylor in Stoke-on-Trent where he attended school.[3] His mother is Karen Simons and his father, Arthur Simons was also a footballer who played as a left-back for North Village Rams.[3] Career statisticsClub
International
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