The Jerseyman, who played for St Paul’s before going on to represent Chelsea, Blackburn, Southampton and England, believes the bid marks an ‘extremely exciting’ development for Island football.
Le Saux says if the application does prove successful, the benefit to the JFA’s development program could be enormous.
‘If I was a young player, I’d be really excited in terms of the pathways and opportunities that could come with the Uefa membership,’ he explained.
‘I think it is another piece of the development jigsaw, and that point is a particularly exciting prospect.
‘If you are a very good player at 13 or 14 years old you need a pathway to be able to develop and fulfil your potential. In some ways joining Uefa addresses that but there is still a long way to go.
‘At senior level, there has always been an issue in Jersey around the lack of Island matches and this would obviously address that problem.
‘With a calendar of fixtures a team has the opportunity to build momentum, confidence and team unity. That, for every player, is at the core of why we play team sport.’
He added: ‘Although it’s a very long process and the JFA are at the beginning of the conversation, official documentation has begun and that’s very exciting.
‘I’m fully behind the application and looking forward to seeing how it progresses. It is, however, important people don’t get too carried away at this stage.
‘I don’t know what Uefa’s view will be and some people may say “why would Jersey feel they should be a member ahead of other Islands or countries with small populations?” That is why there is this application process and Jersey should be allowed to ask those questions.’
To address a lack of competitive fixtures for their island side, Guernsey took the radical decision to enter the English League system in 2011, as club side Guernsey FC.
Despite being discussed by numerous individuals in Jersey, it is an initiative that has yet to be pursued over here and, if Uefa did accept the Island’s bid for membership, it would be out of the question entirely as the JFA would have to sever their ties with the English FA.
Discussing the two options for sourcing competitive matches, Le Saux continued: ‘It’s a different approach but with the same principles; playing more football, and allowing players to develop under the banner of the Island.
‘But the Uefa route is certainly less divisive because the calendars won’t clash – you will take the best club players away for international matches, rather than having them play in a league on a weekly basis.’
