A NEW footballing initiative spearheaded by former Jersey youth player and current professional Kurtis Guthrie is aiming to tackle what many see as the Island’s biggest obstacle to producing professional footballers: exposure.
Project Playmaker, which will launch with a two-day showcase event at the Airport Pitches on 18 and 19 April, has been created to give Jersey’s young players direct access to scouts from professional clubs across England and beyond without the financial and logistical burden of regularly travelling to the mainland.
Guthrie, who came through the ranks at Trinity and St Clement before forging a professional career that has included spells at Stevenage, Accrington Stanley, Bradford City, as well as time in Scotland and overseas, believes the talent has always existed on the Island, but the opportunities have not.
“Talent’s never really been the issue,” he said. “Exposure has been. There’s a lot of real talent in Jersey, but limited access to professional environments without leaving home. For a lot of families, travelling regularly just isn’t realistic, and an opportunity shouldn’t come down to who can afford it.”
The showcase will cater for players aged 13 to 21, with up to 208 participants across the age groups. Each group will take part in structured matches designed specifically for evaluation, overseen by UEFA-qualified coaches, former professional players and, crucially, academy scouts from clubs ranging from the Premier League to the National League.
Guthrie explained that Project Playmaker is not intended to replace any existing pathways on the Island, but to add something that has been missing.
“This isn’t about blaming anyone or trying to replace what already exists,” he said. “It’s about adding something that hasn’t been there before. In smaller footballing communities, it’s hard to build depth – depth in coaching, depth in pathways, depth in experience. That’s not a criticism, it’s just the reality of the scale.”
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Despite the dedication of those involved in local football, Guthrie feels Jersey has historically struggled to connect its most promising players with the professional game.
“There’s probably only a handful of people in the last 25 years who have left Jersey and gone on to have a professional career,” he said. “That’s nowhere near enough. And when people do make it, they don’t always come back. I want to try and change that by giving back as much as I can, so it’s not such an anomaly when someone does get an opportunity.”
Having spent more than 15 years in professional football, Guthrie is keenly aware of how late developers can be overlooked, particularly in insular environments.
“In Jersey, kids get to 14 or 15 and think, ‘That’s it, I’ve missed my chance,'” he said. “But that’s not the reality. I didn’t move to the mainland until I was 18, and once I was there, I realised just how many opportunities exist if you’re in the right environment. It only takes one person to see you and believe you’ve got something.”
That belief underpins Project Playmaker’s ethos. While Guthrie is careful not to overpromise outcomes, he is clear about what the initiative guarantees.
“We’re not saying that if you come, you’ll 100% get a trial,” he said. “The only thing we can genuinely guarantee is a chance to be seen by the right people, people who are directly linked to football clubs and can actually make things happen.”
He was also keen to distance the project from community-based schemes that may carry club branding without direct academy involvement.
“The only people we’re dealing with are those directly connected to the clubs,” he said. “So when they pick up the phone and say they’ve seen a player, there’s no confusion about where that opportunity leads.”
The event will be largely self-funded, with participants paying £150 to take part, a fee Guthrie insists is purely to ensure the showcase is run to a professional standard.
“We’re not making anything from this,” he said. “Flying scouts over, accommodation, safeguarding, facilities, it all adds up. But if it’s not done properly, the mainland scouts won’t take it seriously.”
In a move designed to reinvest back into the local game, 10% of all proceeds will be donated to the Jersey FA to support youth development, a gesture Guthrie says reflects the project’s wider purpose.
“Coming towards the back end of my career, I want to do as much as I can for the community that raised me,” he said. “This is about creating opportunities and letting people feel like they’re part of the journey.”
With registrations already open and interest building, including confirmed and prospective scouts from England and Scotland, Project Playmaker could represent a significant step forward for Jersey footballers dreaming of a professional future.
As Guthrie put it: “You can do it. It just needs the right environment and that’s what we’re trying to provide.”
Keep up to date with the movement at @_projectplaymaker on Instagram.
