 Ballard playing forNorthern Ireland in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel George Ballard[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-09-22)22 September 1999 (age 26)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Stevenage, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sunderland | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2019 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Swindon Town (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | →Blackpool (loan) | 25 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | →Millwall (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| 2022– | Sunderland | 103 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Northern Ireland U18 | |||
| 2018 | Northern Ireland U21 | 4 | (1) |
| 2020– | Northern Ireland | 33 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:12, 11 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:06, 14 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Daniel George Ballard (born 22 September 1999) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forPremier League clubSunderland. Born in England, he plays for theNorthern Ireland national team.
Born inStevenage,[4] Ballard joined theArsenal Academy at the age of eight. He signed his first professional contract in June 2018.[5] Having been released on two occasions, Arsenal offered him scholarship terms when he was 16 following an appearance in a friendly match, away at Bayern Munich.[6]
Ballard moved on loan from Arsenal toSwindon Town in July 2019.[7] He made his debut in a 2–0 win againstScunthorpe United in theLeague Two on 3 August 2019, coming off the bench in the 88th minute.[8][9] He then scored his first career goal in anEFL Trophy tie againstChelsea U21s on 6 August 2019.[10] But his loan spell was cut short after just three appearances due to a severe knee injury that required 5 months of recovery time.[11]
In October 2020, he moved on loan toBlackpool, signing with the club until January 2021.[12][13] Ballard made his debut in a 1–0 loss againstCharlton inLeague One on 20 October.[14] On 5 January 2021, it was announced that the loan had been extended to the end of the season.[15] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw againstCrewe Alexandra on 2 March 2021.[16]
He moved on loan toMillwall on 1 July 2021.[17] He scored his first goal for the club when he scored againstWest Bromwich Albion on 11 September 2021 in a 1–1 draw.[18]
On 30 June 2022, Ballard joined newly promoted Championship clubSunderland for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[19][20] On 16 September 2023, Ballard scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 3–1 win againstQPR.[21]
He signed a new deal in July 2024 to extend his time on Wearside until 2028.[22]
On 13 May 2025, Ballard scored the winning goal (on aggregate) in extra time in the second leg of the2024–25 EFL Championship play-off matchup withCoventry City, setting up a final match withSheffield United.[23] On 24 May 2025, Sunderland defeated Sheffield United 2–1 in the play-off final to earn promotion to thePremier League.[24]
Ballard scored on hisPremier League debut, the second goal in a 3–0 win overWest Ham United on the opening matchday.[25]
Born in England, Ballard qualifies to representNorthern Ireland as his mother was born there.[4]
He has represented Northern Ireland atUnder-18 andUnder-21 levels.[4][26] He was called up to the senior team for the first time in March 2019.[4][27] He made his senior debut in a 1–1 draw against Romania in aNations League game in September 2020.[28][29]
In September 2023, Ballard was injured and ruled out of Euros qualifying matches.[30] In October 2024, he missed Nations League games due to injury.[31] In August 2025 it was announced that he would miss the following month's World Cup qualifiers due to injury.[32]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2019–20[33] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020–21[34] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[35] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2019–20[33] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Blackpool (loan) | 2020–21[34] | League One | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| Millwall (loan) | 2021–22[35] | Championship | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 33 | 1 | |
| Sunderland | 2022–23[36] | Championship | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2023–24[21] | Championship | 42 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 43 | 3 | ||
| 2024–25[37] | Championship | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 23 | 3 | |
| 2025–26[38] | Premier League | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 2 | ||
| Total | 103 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 111 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 160 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 177 | 12 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 2020 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 5 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Cap | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 2021 | LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 9 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 9 June 2022 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo |  Kosovo | 15 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
| 3 | 8 June 2024 | Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, Palma de Mallorca, Spain |  Spain | 23 | 1–0 | 1–5 | Friendly |
| 4 | 5 September 2024 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Luxembourg | 25 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C |
| 5 | 15 November 2024 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Belarus | 27 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2024-25 UEFA Nations League C |
Blackpool
Sunderland