 Vigar withChichester City in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Joseph Vigar | ||
| Date of birth | (2003-10-22)22 October 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Worthing,West Sussex, England | ||
| Date of death | 25 September 2025(2025-09-25) (aged 21) | ||
| Place of death | England | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2023 | Arsenal | ||
| 2023 | →Derby County (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2024 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | →Eastbourne Borough (loan) | 32 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | Hastings United | 10 | (1) |
| 2025 | Chichester City | 3 | (2) |
| Total | 45 | (5) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Joseph Vigar (22 October 2003 – 25 September 2025) commonly known asBilly Vigar, was an English professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
He began his football career with Hove Rivervale, a grassroots club based inHove, Sussex, before joiningArsenal's youth academy.[1] And also played at the youth level forDerby County. His senior career started in 2022, featuring spells withEastbourne Borough andHastings United before signing withChichester City in 2025.
Vigar died on 25 September after suffering a wall collision by accident during anIsthmian League match on 20 September 2025.[2]
William Joseph Vigar was born inWorthing in 2003. He started his youth career with the grassroots club Hove Rivervale FC, after being scouted in his hometown inHove, Sussex, scoring 17 goals in his first season.[3][4] His performances led to a scholarship with Arsenal.[5] He joinedArsenal's academy in December 2017, at the age of 14, during the 2020/21 season, alongsideCharles Sagoe Jr., Remy Mitchell, and others includingOmari Hutchinson,Charlie Patino, andBrook Norton-Cuffy. scoring four goals in 18 under-18 appearances. Billy went on to appear for the club in thePL2 andEFL Trophy.[4]
He signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2022,[4][6][7] but did not make a senior appearance.[8][9]
Vigar spent time on loan withDerby County's[10][11] under-21s andEastbourne Borough during his Arsenal spell.[12][13] He scored his first senior goal on his loan debut for Eastbourne in theNational League South on 5 August 2023, netting adiving header in a 1–0 home victory againstHampton & Richmond Borough.[14][15][16] And made 37 appearances for Eastbourne in total.[17]
After leaving Arsenal in 2024, he joinedHastings United[18] and made 13 appearances in all competitions.[19] Vigar moved toChichester City in 2025[20][21] and made five appearances, scoring twice.[22]
On 20 September 2025, Vigar collided into a concrete wall by accident during anIsthmian League match againstWingate & Finchley and sustained a life-threatening brain injury.[23][24] He was placed into ainduced coma and surgically intervened upon,[25][26] but died on 25 September.[27][28][29]
Vigar's death sparked widespread debate among fans and supporters inEnglish football.The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) called for an urgent review of ground safety standards innon-league football, focusing onbrick andconcrete structures near pitches, and pressed governing bodies to ensure such features do not create "unnecessary or avoidable risk" to players.[30] Fans initiated a petition, known informally as "Vigar's Law", to ban hard walls and barriers next to touchlines at lower-league venues.[31][32] Omari Hutchinson, Brooke Norton-Cuffy andCharlie Patino, his former teammates, also paid tribute to Vigar.[3]
Arsenal described him as "quick, powerful and fiercely determined".[33][34]Chichester City postponed their next fixture,[35][36][37] and tributes were paid across English football.[38][39] Arsenal managerMikel Arteta paid tribute, describing the news as "shocking" and stating that his immediate thoughts were with Vigar's family.[40][41]Worthing,Horsham,Brighton & Hove Albion,Portsmouth,Havant & Waterlooville and several other football clubs posted tributes to Vigar.[42][43] On 1 October 2025, Arsenal paid tribute to Vigar during theirUEFA Champions Leaguegroup stage match againstOlympiacos, with players wearing black armbands in his honour.[44][45]Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal player and captain, stated "Vigar will always remain part of the Arsenal family."[46]
On 26 September 2025, the Isthmian League paid tribute to Vigar, announcing that a minute's silence would be observed before matches that weekend, with players also wearing black armbands in his memory.[47]
The Football Association expressed its condolences and faced calls to conduct a broader safety review following the incident.[48] On 26 September, it announced that it would undertake a review of pitch perimeter safety.[49] TheSecretary of State for Culture, Media and SportLisa Nandy said that a safety review would be carried out.[50] A review was previously advocated for.[51] Following a previous similar incident, in 2023 thePFA andStuart Andrew, theParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth, wrote to thePremier League, theEFL and theNational League calling on them to proactively review pitch perimeter safety but this did not take place.[52]
Sholing FC called on the Football Association to establish a dedicated fund to enable clubs to carry out “urgent” safety work at their grounds following the death of Vigar, stating that unsafe perimeter walls and fences were present at many non-league stadiums.[53]
In October 2025, Chichester City manager, Miles Rutherford said that following Vigar's death he had considered ending his football career but that Vigar's family had made everyone come together and persevere as a team.[54]Later in October, Wingate & Finchley said that the concrete wall with which Vigar had collided had since been demolished.[55]
Eastbourne Borough announced in October that the gate receipts from theirSussex Senior Cup game against Chichester City on 28 October would be donated to theLondon Air Ambulance who had airlifted Vigar to hospital following his injury.[56]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastbourne Borough (loan) | 2023–24 | National League South | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| Hastings United | 2024–25 | Isthmian League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Chichester City | 2025–26 | Isthmian League | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Career total | 45 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 5 | ||