| Tajio James | |
| Birth Date: | 17 December 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Height: | 1.67 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Central Arkansas Bears |
| Clubnumber: | 11 |
| Collegeyears1: | 2021–2022 |
| College1: | Feather River Golden Eagles |
| Collegecaps1: | 40 |
| Collegegoals1: | 41 |
| Collegeyears2: | 2023–2024 |
| College2: | Central Arkansas Bears |
| Collegecaps2: | 27 |
| Collegegoals2: | 4 |
| Years1: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs1: | UWI Blackbirds |
| Nationalyears1: | 2022– |
| Nationalteam1: | Barbados |
| Nationalcaps1: | 10 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 5 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 00:50, 21 November 2023 (UTC) |
| Club-Update: | 16:34, 10 August 2022 (UTC) |
Tajio James (born 17 December 2003) is a Barbadian footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Central Arkansas Bears and the Barbados national team.
As a youth James was part of the KFC Pinelands Football Academy and Pro Shottas United. With the latter he won a number of youth titles.[1] [2] [3] For the 2020 Barbados Premier League season he was part of the youth movement at UWI Blackbirds FC.[4] He scored his first two Premier League goals on 3 March 2020 in a 4–0 victory over Brittons Hill FC.[5]
In August 2021 it was announced that James and fellow-Barbadian Devonte Richards had received a scholarship to play college soccer in the United States for the Golden Eagles of Feather River College.[2] During his first season with the team, James tallied nine assists and a team-high thirteen goals as Feather River College won the CCCAA Golden Valley Conference Championship.[6] Late in the season he was leading the conference in both goals and points.[7] Following his sophomore season, James was named to the second team of the United Soccer Coaches 2022 Junior College Division III All-America Team.[8]
In April 2023 it was announced that James had transferred to NCAA Division 1 school Central Arkansas University to play for the Bears.[9]
James represented Barbados as a youth at the U15 and U17 levels,[4] including three appearances in the 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[10] He received his first senior call-up by head coach Russell Latapy in February 2021.[11] He was called up again for the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League B.[12] James went on to make his senior international debut on 2 June 2022 in Barbados's opening match against Antigua and Barbuda.[13] [14]
James scored his first senior international goal in a 1–1 friendly draw with Grenada on 22 February 2023.[15] Two days later he scored two more goals in another draw with the same opponent.[16] [17]
Scores and results list Barbados's goal tally first.[13]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 22 February 2023 | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | |||
| 2. | 24 February 2023 | 1–0 | 2–2 | ||||
| 3. | 2–1 | ||||||
| 4. | 26 March 2023 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League B | |||
| 5. | 20 November 2023 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League B | |||
| Last updated 20 November 2023 | |||||||
| Barbados | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 5 | |
| Total | 10 | 5 | |