How hard is it for Channel Island players to become professionals?

“We’ve got good talent over here, and if our island was attached to the mainland these players would be at academies,” says Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance.

The Green Lions are one of two Channel Island football clubs with teams playing in the English league pyramid – along with their rivals Jersey Bulls.

The club gave Alex Scott his first taste of men’s football, as a 16-year-old, before he left Guernsey for Bristol City. From there he moved to Bournemouth, where his form earned him a call-up to the England squad this month.

But becoming a professional footballer from these offshore locations is so much harder for youngsters than it is on mainland England, because there is that stretch of water in between.

“The travel, the finance; they’re the big barriers,” says Jersey Bulls manager Elliot Powell.

“Eventually, children have to make a big decision and families have to make big decisions around whether they leave the island, pursue opportunities in the UK and take education in the UK rather than in Jersey.

For the likes of Scott and his stepsister Maya Le Tissier, it has paid off in the biggest way possible, with England honours and top-flight careers.

Jersey’s Callum Osmand was on the Wales radar before a rule change meant he was ineligible, having moved to Celtic from Fulham in the summer.

He is one of a number of Jersey players who, like Scott and Le Tissier, have international honours – Luke Harris has represented Wales at Under-21 level because of his Welsh father, while Standard Liege’s United States defender Marlon Fossey grew up in Jersey and moved to Fulham at a young age.

“They’ve all made those big brave calls and it’s paid off for them,” adds Powell, whose side play in the eighth tier of English football.

For many years players struggled to make it off the islands. England internationals Graeme Le Saux and Matt Le Tissier were outliers, as most local players stayed at home or returned after not making the grade at English academies.

But the introduction of club teams from Jersey and Guernsey into the English league set-up has been a major boost to players hoping to make it as a professional.

Guernsey FC were the first, in 2012, with Jersey Bulls following in 2019.

It has led to the clubs seeing players move to academies in the UK – Scott paved the way for Guernsey’s Jack Griffin and Tim Ap Sion to join Bristol City, while Jersey’s Sammy Henia-Kamau moved to Hull City this summer, having been spotted playing for the Bulls by Swansea City.

Meanwhile, Jersey’s Rebekah Pierce is at Chelsea’s academy, Plymouth Argyle have Guernsey’s Chloe Ingrouille and Jersey’s Shana Dolbel on their books and Guernsey’s Sydney Schreimaier plays for Lewes.

“We have to coach and coach and coach and try and improve them,” says Vance.

“That’s for our benefit as well as theirs, because the resource and effort we put into these youngsters – boys and girls – you know we’ll get the fruits of our labour later on.

“If they’re high-performing, we’ve got the forum in terms of Guernsey FC to expose them onto the mainland and people can develop their game further than just the insular games locally.

The academy stage is the hardest for players and their families.

Children travelling to England every week from the Channel Islands with a parent is expensive, time-consuming, and when winter weather kicks in, unpredictable – not to mention tough on families who spend little time together.

But it is what Le Tissier and Scott did every week as they tried to make it in English football.

“Growing up we would fly over every weekend together,” says Scott.

“Every weekend one of our parents and ourselves were flying over and it took a lot, especially for our parents.

“The amount of money they were paying and the amount of dedication they put in for us to dream to be footballers.

“It’s a credit to them and we’re just happy we’re playing at the top level. She’s flying for Manchester United and the Lionesses as well, and I couldn’t be prouder of her.”

Manchester United captain and England defender Le Tissier was so good as a teenager she became the first girl to play in the Under-16s boys’ inter-island game between Guernsey and Jersey.

She left to join Brighton’s academy and became a stalwart in their Women’s Super League side before making the switch to United in 2022 and knows it is her family that are the reason she is where she is today.

“We’ve had to be pretty resilient, not having that many opportunities to try and create our own, which is what we’ve done,” she says.

“That is obviously with the help of our coaches back home and friends and family as well, they’ve been so supportive and we definitely couldn’t have done it without them.