Matt Cafer

Matthew Paul Cafer (born 27 September 1994) is a semi-professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Romford on loan from Sittingbourne. Born in England, he has represented the Gibraltar national team.

Matt Cafer
Personal information
Full name Matthew Paul Cafer[1]
Date of birth (1994-09-27) 27 September 1994
Place of birth Weymouth, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Romford
(on loan from Sittingbourne)
Youth career
2006–2011 Weymouth
2011 Yeovil Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Yeovil Town 0 (0)
2012 → Sherborne Town (loan) 1 (0)
2013 → Willand Rovers (loan) 3 (0)
2013 → Weymouth (loan) 0 (0)
2013–2014 Weymouth 0 (0)
2014–2017 Europa 16 (0)
2017 Manchester 62 9 (0)
2017 Bath City 0 (0)
2017 Gosport Borough 7 (0)
2017 Dorchester Town 0 (0)
2017 Farnborough 5 (0)
2018 Manchester 62 16 (0)
2018–2019 Gibraltar Phoenix 25 (0)
2019–2020 Bruno's Magpies 11 (0)
2020 Romford 17 (0)
2021–2022 Coggeshall Town 37 (0)
2022– Sittingbourne 18 (0)
2023– → Romford (loan) 8 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 Gibraltar 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:35, 1 March 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:49, 15 October 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Weymouth, Dorset, Cafer began his football career in the youth system of his home town club Weymouth captaining their youth sides from under-12 to under-16 level.[3] Cafer had previously had trials Reading and Bristol City at the ages of 13 and 14, as well as playing for Dorset county from under-15 to under-17 level.[4][5] In May 2011, Cafer signed a two-year youth scholarship with League One side Yeovil Town.[6] On 12 November 2011, with the unavailability of loan goalkeeper Marek Štěch due to international commitments, Cafer featured on the Yeovil substitutes bench for the first time in the FA Cup first round against Hereford United.[7] In November 2012, Cafer joined Western League First Division side Sherborne Town on a work-experience loan deal featuring once for the Dorset side in a 2–0 win over Welton Rovers.[8] Having been part of the Yeovil squad that traveled to Wembley Stadium for the 2013 Football League One play-off final, Cafer was awarded his first professional contract at the end of the 2012–13 season signing a six-month deal.[9] In August 2013, Cafer joined Western League Premier Division side Willand Rovers on a one-month loan deal,[10] on his return to Yeovil he re-joined his home town club Southern Premier Division side Weymouth initially on loan.[11] On 23 December 2013, Cafer was released by Yeovil to join Weymouth permanently on non-contract terms.[12][13]

In January 2014, following a successful trial Cafer signed a professional contract with Gibraltar Premier Division side Europa.[14][15] After two and a half years in Gibraltar playing for Europa and Manchester 62, Cafer returned to England to sign for National League South side Bath City.[16] Due to a delay in his international clearance coming through following his move from Gibraltar Cafer failed to make a first-team appearance for Bath City, and subsequently joined Southern Premier Division side Gosport Borough.[17] In October 2017, Cafer had a brief spell with Dorchester Town before signing for Farnborough.[18] In 2018, Cafer returned to Gibraltar to re-sign for Manchester 62 before signing for newly promoted Gibraltar Phoenix at the end of the season. Following Phoenix's exit from Gibraltar football in August 2019, he joined Bruno's Magpies. He left in January 2020 and subsequently signed for Romford. Cafer joined Sittingbourne in June 2022 after a season with Coggeshall Town.[19]

International career

Following a rule change in 2018, Cafer became eligible to play for the Gibraltar national football team.[20] Cafer made his international debut for Gibraltar on 19 November 2018, starting in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D match against Macedonia, which finished as a 0–4 away loss.[21]

Career statistics

International
As of 10 October 2019[22]
Gibraltar
YearAppsGoals
201810
201910
Total20

References
  1. Carrasco Bellido, David (24 July 2015). "Matt Cafer, un gran portero para el Europa FC" [Matt Cafer, a great goalkeeper for Europa FC]. futbolcarrasco.com (in Spanish). FútbolCarrasco. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  2. Matt Cafer at FootballDatabase.eu
  3. Rose, Dan (28 July 2015). "Football: Gibraltar return for keeper Cafer". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  4. "Goalkeeper Matt Cafer joins ACHIEVE". Achieve Management. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  5. Meech, Rob (3 February 2010). "Royals seal of approval". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  6. "Three More Sign Up To Scholarship Programme". Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website). 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  7. "Hereford 0–3 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  8. "Sherborne Town hope homework can bring further FA Vase glory". Western Gazette. 15 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  9. "Glovers Youth Keeper Given Professional Deal". Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website). 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  10. "Cafer Gets Willand Deal". Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website). 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  11. "Cafer To Head Out In Second Loan Deal". Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website). 14 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  12. "Cafer Leaves Huish Park". Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website). 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  13. Summers, Adam (7 January 2014). "TERRAS: Matthews aims to keep hold of Green and Cafer". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  14. Exclusive interview with College Europa’s Matt Cafer englishplayersabroad.com
  15. Summers, Adam (20 January 2014). "TERRAS: Matthews on the search for reinforcements". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  16. Whitney, Steve (27 July 2017). "Bath Reward Two Triallists With Deals". National League. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  17. Burridge, Harry (27 August 2017). "Bath City boss Gary Owers laments injury misfortune in Poole Town triumph". Bath Chronicle. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  18. Walton, Neil (14 October 2017). "BREAKING NEWS: Magpies: Dorchester Town sign goalkeeper Chad Collins". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  19. Sittingbourne F.C. [@SittingbourneFC] (4 June 2022). "𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙎𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 ✍️ We are delighted to announce the signing of Gibraltar International Matthew Cafer. Welcome Matthew 🤝 #SittingbourneFC #TheBrickies" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 June 2022 – via Twitter.
  20. "Football: Gibraltar focus for ex-Terra Matt Cafer". Dorset Echo. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  21. "UEFA Nations League – Macedonia v Gibraltar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  22. "Matthew Cafer". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
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