Ex-Bristol Rovers star and local legend secures promotion at the age 47 with ‘great club’

Former Bristol Rovers star and local lad Jamie Cureton is one of the sport's most capped players of all time and is celebrating new success with Enfield FC.

Cureton is player-manager at the club who secured the Essex Senior League title on Tuesday night with an 8-0 win over Southend Manor.

The striker, who made 95 appearances for Bristol Rovers between 1996 and 2000, celebrated the news on Twitter last night.

He wrote: "So proud of this group of players been unbelievable all season we have been pushed hard by a lot of teams but the boys have always found a way to stay on top. Congratulations to everyone involved with this great club."

It's set to be a great weekend of celebrations for Enfield, who also today announced a promotion party to take place at the club on Saturday with food, drink, a DJ and the end-of-season awards.

Cureton is a familiar face for Gashead fans having started his career in the Rovers' academy and then dazzled for the first team with 48 goals in 95 matches.

The talisman famously struck up a deadly partnership with Jason Roberts during the 1999-2000 season which almost took the club into what is now the Championship.

Now 47 years old, Cureton has enjoyed a long career and has made over 1,000 competitive appearances across an impressive nine tiers of football leagues which has included longer stints at Reading, Colchester United, Dagenham & Redbridge and Bishop's Stortford.

Cureton passed that 1,000 appearance mark when at Bishop's Stortford in 2016 and said: "For outfield players, it is quite rare. It hasn’t properly sunk in yet.

"To be in that bracket in world football, it’s outrageous. I’m very proud.

"From the age of seven, when I went to a soccer camp with Bristol Rovers that was meant for 10-year-olds but we lied about my age, I have never done anything but football.”

Briston born and raised, Cureton attended St. Thomas More secondary school and honed his skills with the Bristol Rovers youth sides before making his professional debut for Norwich City.

His hometown club then forked out £200,000 to secure his services in 1996 after a loan spell. Come 2000 Cureton left Rovers to play for Reading, where he enjoyed a successful spell and led them to promotion during his second season in Berkshire.