Jayce Olivero

Jayce Olivero
Personal information
Full name Jayce Lee Mascarenhas-Olivero[1]
Date of birth (1998-07-02) 2 July 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Gibraltar
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left-back, Left midfielder
Team information
Current team
 St Joseph's
Number 3
Youth career
Lions Gibraltar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Lions Gibraltar 49 (0)
2016–2019 Abingdon United 44 (3)
2019–2023 Europa 67 (2)
2023–2024 Helsingør 3 (0)
2024– St Joseph's 21 (1)
International career‡
2013–2014 Gibraltar U-17 5 (0)
2014–2015 Gibraltar U-19 5 (0)
2017–2020 Gibraltar U-21 4 (0)
2016– Gibraltar 63 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 November 2024

Jayce Lee Mascarenhas-Olivero (born 2 July 1998) is a Gibraltarian footballer who plays as a defender for Gibraltar Football League club St Joseph's. He is member of the Gibraltar national football team, having played at every youth level since Gibraltar joined UEFA in 2013.

Club career

Olivero is a product of the Lions Gibraltar youth academy, and broke into the team during the 2014-15 season at the age of 16. In summer 2015 he had a trial at West Ham United to gain experience of professional training. He returned to the revamped Lions team for the coming season and became a regular in the side, playing an important role as the previous season's bottom side made an early challenge for European qualification. In February 2016, he had a short trial at Leicester City, playing in a youth team game watched by scouts from other professional teams, before returning to Gibraltar. In 2016, he moved to Abingdon United for the duration of his studies. In his first season at the club, he helped them to second in the Hellenic League Division One West, and promotion. For his efforts, Olivero was voted Supporters' Player of the Season. After suffering relegation in 2019, it was announced that Olivero had signed for Europa back in Gibraltar on 15 May 2019, joining officially in time for the club's Europa League campaign.[2] He made his debut in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League preliminary round against UE Sant Julià on 27 June.[3] After four years at Europa, during which time he became club captain, he left the club in 2023 as the owners scaled back investment. He joined Danish 1st Division side FC Helsingør on 30 August 2023.[4] He returned to his native Gibraltar in January 2024, signing for St Joseph's.[5]

International career

He made his debut for the Gibraltar national football team aged 17 years and 264 days on 23 March 2016, starting in a goalless draw against Liechtenstein at the Victoria Stadium - making him the territory's youngest UEFA era player at the time until Dylan Borge broke his record in March 2021. His addition into a five-man defence by manager Jeff Wood allowed the formerly defensive Joseph Chipolina to attack. In the 69th-minute, shortly after being booked, Olivero was substituted for Jeremy Lopez.[6] In October 2020, he was named captain for the first time, against Malta.[7]

International statistics

As of 15 November 2024[8]
Gibraltar
Year Apps Goals
2016 6 0
2017 5 0
2018 7 0
2019 9 0
2020 6 0
2021 4 0
2022 9 0
2023 8 0
2024 9 0
Total 63 0

Honours

Abingdon United
Europa
St Joseph's

References

  1. ^ Jayce Olivero at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ TOP LOCAL TALENT FOR EUROPA FC Europa FC on Twitter. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. ^ UEFA Europa League - Sant Julià vs Europa UEFA.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  4. ^ "FC Helsingør henter landsholdsspiller". www.fchelsingor.dk. 30 August 2023. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  5. ^ "BREAKING: OLIVERO SIGNS FOR THE SAINTS AS WE ADD TO SQUAD FROM POSITION OF STRENGTH". www.stjosephsfcgib.co.uk. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Football: Jeff's 'diamond' sparkles". Gibraltar Chronicle. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. ^ Special football feature - Turning Pro – Jayce Olivero explains how it’s not just a dream but a reality Gibraltar Chronicle. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Aymen Mouelhi". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 November 2018.