| Leroy Jennings | |
| Full Name: | Leroy Jennings |
| Birth Date: | 3 March 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Height: | 1.84 m |
| Position: | Central midfielder |
| Youthyears1: | 2012–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | LA Galaxy II |
| Youthyears2: | 2014–2016 |
| Youthclubs2: | Wrexham |
| Youthyears3: | 2016–2017 |
| Youthclubs3: | Newcastle Jets |
| Years1: | 2017 |
| Clubs1: | Newcastle Jets Youth |
| Caps1: | 16 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Years2: | 2018 |
| Clubs2: | Sutherland Sharks |
| Caps2: | 20 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs3: | Blacktown City |
| Caps3: | 34 |
| Goals3: | 9 |
| Years4: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs4: | Wollongong Wolves |
| Caps4: | 38 |
| Goals4: | 13 |
| Years5: | 2023– |
| Clubs5: | Sydney United |
| Caps5: | 16 |
| Goals5: | 4 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2016 |
| Nationalteam1: | Fiji U20 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 28 August 2023 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 8 September 2016 |
Leroy Jennings (born 3 March 1998) is a professional football player who last played as a central midfielder for Sydney United in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Born in Australia, Jennings has represented Fiji at youth level.
Jennings signed for LA Galaxy academy on a 1-year deal after showing a good performance during trial, impressing the directors and receiving praise from David Beckham.[1] [2] After leaving LA Galaxy, Jennings signed for Wrexham in 2014, playing for the academy for two seasons.[3]
On 27 October 2016, Jennings signed for the Newcastle Jets. He played for the youth team, making 16 appearances and 3 goals in the league.[4] [5] After departing and having stints with Sutherland Sharks and Blacktown City, Jennings signed for Wollongong Wolves on 24 December 2020.[6] [7]
On 17 December 2022, Jennings was announced to play for Sydney United for the 2023 NPL NSW season.[8] He made his debut for the club on 5 February 2023 against Fairfield rivals Marconi, scoring two goals in the second half to win the match 3–1 at full time.[9]
Jennings was selected for the Fiji national under-20 team ahead of their 2016 OFC U-20 Championship. Jennings played all three group matches, scoring one goal against New Caledonia but failing to qualify for the knockout rounds.[10] However, one month before the OFC 2018 FIFA World Cup playoff, Jennings rejected the call-up for the Fiji national team because of his interest in representing Australia instead.[11]
Jennings was born in Sydney, Australia to parents of Italian and Tongan-Fijian descent.[1] [6] [12] He is the cousin to Michael Jennings and George Jennings, both of whom played rugby league professionally in the National Rugby League.[13] He is also related to Arthur Jennings, who represented the New Zealand national rugby union team during his playing career.[14]
Outside of football, Jennings took an interest in boxing and basketball, the latter after taking inspiration from The Last Dance on Netflix.[12] He also learnt to speak Italian, having been able to speak basic for most of his early life and to play the piano during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[12] He is affectionately nicknamed the "speedster" or "specimen" by his teammates.[6] [12]
With Sydney United 58: