Kevin Betsy

Kevin Betsy

Personal information
Full name	Kevin Eddie Lewis Betsy
Date of birth	20 March 1978 (1978-03-20)
Place of birth	Woking, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–1998	Woking	7	(8)
1998–2002	Fulham	15	(1)
1999	→ Bournemouth (loan)	5	(0)
1999	→ Hull City (loan)	2	(0)
2002	→ Barnsley (loan)	5	(0)
2002–2004	Barnsley	94	(15)
2004	Hartlepool United	6	(1)
2004–2005	Oldham Athletic	36	(5)
2005–2007	Wycombe Wanderers	71	(13)
2007–2008	Bristol City	18	(1)
2007	→ Yeovil Town (loan)	5	(1)
2008	→ Walsall (loan)	16	(2)
2008–2010	Southend United	43	(3)
2009–2010	→ Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	39	(5)
2010–2011	Wycombe Wanderers	48	(7)
National team
2011	Seychelles	5	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Kevin Eddie Lewis Betsy (born 20 March 1978) is an English-born Seychellois professional footballer who is a free agent, having left Wycombe Wanderers.

Club career

Betsy started his career at Woking, representing England at semi professional level and being named Conference Player of the Year in 1998, before Kevin Keegan moved in to sign him for Fulham during the 1998–99 season for £150,000, describing him as one of the best young players he had seen at his age. He made his debut at Anfield against Liverpool and spent three years at Fulham and also played in the Premiership for Fulham under Jean Tigana. He had loan spells at Bournemouth and Hull City before Barnsley came in for him in March 2002 for a fee of £200,000. He made over 90 appearances for the club and scored 17 goals and was the clubs top goal scorer in 2002–03 season with 11 goals from midfield. After a short spell at Hartlepool United he signed for Oldham Athletic in September 2004 he scored 5 goals and was a key member of the team which defeated Manchester city in the FA Cup . After turning down Oldham's offer of a new contract, Betsy moved to Wycombe Wanderers in July 2005, signing a two year contract.

Betsy in action for Bristol City.

Betsy was a regular in the Wycombe team during the 2005–06 season. He was also a regular goalscorer for the club, most notably with a hat-trick against Mansfield Town in September 2005 and in April 2006. Betsy was honoured by his fellow professionals by being named in the Professional Footballers's Association (PFA) "Team Of The Year" for League Two and helped Wycombe reach the play-offs. Betsy's last game for Wycombe was a notable one, the Carling Cup semi final defeat against the eventual winners Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

In January 2007, it was announced that Betsy had been signed by League One Bristol City for a fee of £200,000. He was ever present in the city line up helping the Robins gain Promotion to Championship. Betsy joined Yeovil Town on loan in October 2007. He returned to Bristol City on 7 November.

On 31 January 2008, Betsy joined Walsall for the rest of the season on loan. Betsy signed for Southend United on 7 August 2008, on a two-year contract and led the team with assists

On 1 September 2009, just 188 seconds before the close of the window, Betsy re-signed on loan for Wycombe Wanderers until 2 January 2010. On 15 January 2010, after a successful loan, Betsy signed for Wycombe on a permanent basis until the end of the season from Southend. Betsy also led the team in assists with eight, scoring five goals and being voted (OWWSA) Wycombe Supporters Player of the year, following which he signed a new two-year deal until 2012. Betsy was a regular in the Wycombe promotion side in 2010–11, but found first team opportunities limited in 2011–12, and left the club by mutual consent on 20 December 2011.

International career

Betsy is of Seychellois descent and, after initially rejecting the chance to play for the Seychelles national team, was finally called into the squad and made his international debut against a visiting French league side on 3 June 2011, scoring twice in a 3-0 friendly victory. Betsy was called up to the Seychelles squad for the football tournament at the 2011 Indian Ocean Island Games. He started all five of the Seychelles' games in the tournament, scoring in the final against Mauritius, which finished 1-1. Betsy scored again in the resulting penalty shootout, which the Seychelles won 4-3.

International goals

Scores and results list Seychelles' goal tally first

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 August 2011	Stade Linite, Victoria	Mauritius	1–0	1–1	Indian Ocean Games 2011

Personal life

Kevin is currently coaching at Premiership side Fulham Football club in the Academy. He has been doing this in his spare time and combining it with his professional playing career. Over the past 3 years he has worked with age groups U13, U14 and U15. Kevin has almost completed all his UEFA Badges with the English FA. He is also accompanying his coaching qualifications and learning by obtaining The Certificate of Applied Management which was attained at Warwick University in 2010. This course is in conjunction with the League Managers Association and regarded very highly within football. Post graduates of the course such as Mark Hughes,Stuart Pearce, Nigel Adkins,Paul Ince,Aidy Boothroyd and Malky MacKay to name a few show the credibility and value it his given others. He is also studying for a BA Honors Degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University, .

External links

• Wycombe Wanderers profile
• Kevin Betsy career stats at Soccerbase