| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Ball[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-03-26)26 March 1993 (age 32)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Welwyn Garden City, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Holding midfielder,attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2010 | Norwich City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Norwich City | 0 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Macclesfield Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Stevenage | 2 | (0) |
| 2013 | →Farnborough (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | →Boreham Wood (loan) | 21 | (4) |
| 2014 | →Farnborough (loan) | 19 | (4) |
| 2014 | Farnborough | 12 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Wealdstone | 24 | (6) |
| 2015 | Albuquerque Sol | ||
| 2015–2016 | Wealdstone | 24 | (3) |
| 2016 | →Farnborough (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | St Albans | 13 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Hendon | 47 | (9) |
| 2018 | →Kings Langley (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 2018–2020 | Biggleswade Town | ||
| 2020–2021 | Hendon | 7 | (0) |
| 2022 | Welwyn Garden City | 8 | (1) |
| 2023 | Cockfosters | 4 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Stotfold | 37 | (9) |
| International career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Northern Ireland U17 | 6 | (1) |
| 2011 | Northern Ireland U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Northern Ireland U21 | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:26, 16 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Matthew Ball (born 26 March 1993) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aholding midfielder orattacking midfielder.
Ball joined theNorwich City academy in 2005 and progressed through the youth system to sign his first professional contract in May 2011. He moved toStevenage in July 2012, making hisFootball League debut and spendingloan spells atFarnborough andBoreham Wood. He subsequently joined Farnborough permanently before signing for Conference South clubWealdstone in October 2014 for an undisclosed fee, making 62 appearances and scoring 11 goals. During this period, he also had a brief spell in the United States withAlbuquerque Sol.
He spent the first half of the2016–17 season withSt Albans before joiningIsthmian League Premier Division clubHendon in January 2017. In May 2018, he signed forBiggleswade Town, scoring 18 goals across two seasons in a holding midfield role. He later played forWelwyn Garden City,Cockfosters, andStotfold innon-League football. Internationally, Ball representedNorthern Ireland atunder-17,under-19, andunder-21 level.
Born inWelwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire,[2] Ball attendedSt Columba's College andEaston College.[4] He began playing football with local club Welwyn Pegasus at under-6 level, spending six to seven years there.[5] After attracting interest fromIpswich Town andTottenham Hotspur, he joined theNorwich City academy at the age of 12 following a successful trial.[5] His father, Tim, played forStevenage Borough for three years between 1984 and 1987,[6] while his brotherDominic, is also a professional footballer.[5]
While part of Norwich City's youth system, Ballcaptained the academy team during the2010–11 season and featured regularly for the reserves, scoring eight goals in 14 matches.[6] In October 2010, he received his first-team call-up, appearing as an unusedsubstitute in a 2–1 defeat toCrystal Palace.[7] He signed his professional contract, a one-year deal, in the summer of 2011, with managerPaul Lambert praising his attitude and readiness to step up to senior football.[8]
During the2011–12 season, Ball continued to play regularly for the reserves but did not make a senior appearance. He joinedLeague Two clubMacclesfield Town on a one-monthloan on 15 March 2012,[9] though did not feature and returned to Norwich at the end of the spell.[6][10] Ball was released by the club at the conclusion of the 2011–12 season, without making a first-team appearance.[10]
Ahead of the2012–13 season, Ball joinedLeague One clubStevenage on trial and subsequently signed a two-year contract on 19 July 2012.[11][12] Having not made a first-team appearance during the first half of the season,[13] he was loaned toConference South clubFarnborough on a one-month deal.[14][15] He made seven appearances and scored once in a 1–0 away win overEastbourne Borough.[16][17] Ball returned to Stevenage and made his senior debut for the club on 20 April 2013, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 3–0 defeat toSwindon Town.[18]
Ball joinedConference South clubBoreham Wood on a six-month loan on 16 August 2013,[19] scoring twice on his debut the following day in a 2–0 victory againstTonbridge Angels.[20] He went on to make 29 appearances and score five goals during the first half of the season.[20] Following the expiry of his loan, Ball rejoined Farnborough on loan for the remainder of the2013–14 season, where he scored four times in 19 appearances.[20] He was released by Stevenage in May 2014.[21]
Ball signed for Conference South club Farnborough on a permanent basis ahead of the2014–15 season following a successful trial during pre-season.[22] He scored twice in 15 appearances during the opening two months of the season, both goals coming in a 2–1 away victory againstWealdstone.[20][22] He subsequently joined Wealdstone for an undisclosed fee on 22 October 2014,[22] making his debut in a 6–0Middlesex Senior Cup victory overHampton & Richmond Borough.[20] He finished the season with six goals in 28 appearances.[20]
In May 2015, Ball joinedUSL Premier Development League clubAlbuquerque Sol, helping the team reach theplay-offs, where they were defeated byFC Tucson in the qualifying round.[23] He returned to Wealdstone for the2015–16 season, making 34 appearances and scoring five times, although he did not feature during the final six weeks of the season.[20]
Ball signed forNational League South clubSt Albans City on 15 June 2016.[24] He scored twice on his first start in a 3–0 away win againstWeston-super-Mare on 29 August 2016.[20] After registering four goals in 23 appearances,[20] he joinedIsthmian League Premier Division clubHendon on a dual-registration deal in January 2017.[25] Ball scored seven goals in 18 appearances during the second half of the2016–17 season,[20] before signing permanently with Hendon in June 2017.[25] He went on to make 40 appearances and score four goals during the2017–18 season,[26] which also included a two-month loan spell atKings Langley.[20]
Ball joinedSouthern League Premier Division Central clubBiggleswade Town on 22 May 2018.[27] He scored 12 goals from aholding midfield role during the2018–19 season and added six goals in 40 appearances in2019–20, before the season was curtailed in March 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[20] He returned to Hendon in July 2020, making 10 appearances before the campaign was again abandoned amid COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[20][26] After recovering from a knee injury,[24] Ball signed for his hometown clubWelwyn Garden City on 2 March 2022,[28] aiming to assist the club's pursuit of a Southern League Division One Central play-off position.[29] He scored once in eight appearances, but despite qualifying, the club were ineligible to compete in the play-offs due to ground grading regulations.[20][30]
After not playing competitively during the2022–23 season, Ball joinedCockfosters of theSpartan South Midlands League in September 2023.[20] He made five appearances before signing forStotfold in December 2023.[20] Across the2023–24 and2024–25 seasons, he made 40 appearances and scored nine goals for the club.[20]
Ball representedNorthern Ireland atunder-17,under-19 andunder-21 level.[6][31]
Ball began his career as anattacking midfielder before transitioning to a holding midfield role.[5] He noted that adapting tonon-League football required a shift in approach, moving from a creative, playmaking role in academy football to a more physical and disciplined holding position, which he later established himself in at Biggleswade Town.[5]
Ball earned a degree inBusiness Management from theOpen University.[4] While continuing his semi-professional playing career, he also began working as aFIFA-licensedfootball agent.[4]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Norwich City | 2010–11[32] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011–12[33] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Macclesfield Town (loan) | 2011–12[33] | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Stevenage | 2012–13[13] | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2013–14[34] | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Farnborough (loan) | 2012–13[20] | Conference South | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| Boreham Wood (loan) | 2013–14[20] | Conference South | 21 | 4 | 6 | 1 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 29 | 5 | |
| Farnborough (loan) | 2013–14[20] | Conference South | 19 | 4 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | ||
| Farnborough | 2014–15[20] | Conference South | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
| Total | 31 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 6 | ||
| Wealdstone | 2014–15[20] | Conference South | 24 | 6 | — | — | 4[c] | 0 | 28 | 6 | ||
| Albuquerque Sol | 2015 | USL Premier Development League | Season statistics not known | |||||||||
| Wealdstone | 2015–16[20] | National League South | 24 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | 5[d] | 1 | 34 | 5 | |
| St Albans City | 2016–17[20] | National League South | 13 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 2 | 23 | 4 | |
| Hendon | 2016–17[20] | Isthmian Premier Division | 18 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 20 | 7 | ||
| 2017–18[20] | Isthmian Premier Division | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 2 | 40 | 9 | ||
| Total | 47 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 60 | 11 | ||
| Kings Langley (loan) | 2017–18[20] | Southern League Premier Division | 9 | 3 | — | — | 2[f] | 1 | 11 | 4 | ||
| Biggleswade Town | 2018–19[20] | Southern League Premier Division Central | Season statistics incomplete[35] | |||||||||
| 2019–20[20] | Southern League Premier Division Central | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 8[g] | 2 | 40 | 6 | ||
| Total | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 40 | 6 | ||
| Hendon | 2020–21[20] | Southern League Premier Division South | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[h] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Welwyn Garden City | 2021–22[20] | Southern League Division One Central | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Cockfosters | 2023–24[20] | SSML Premier Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | 1[i] | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Stotfold | 2023–24[20] | Southern League Division One Central | 19 | 5 | — | — | 1[j] | 0 | 20 | 5 | ||
| 2024–25[20] | Southern League Division One Central | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[j] | 0 | 20 | 4 | ||
| Total | 37 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 9 | ||
| Career totals | 263 | 50 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 8 | 331 | 60 | ||
