Callum Watson (born 28 February 2000) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who plays for

HFX Wanderers FC HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of t ...

in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

Early life

Watson played youth football with

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

for five years, until he was sixteen, when he was released due to being too small. Afterwards, he then joined the

AFC Sudbury Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury is a football club based in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. The club was formed in 1999 by the merger of Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers, the process giving rise to the name Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury. ...

academy program.

College career

In 2018, Watson headed to the United States, through the U.S Sports Scholarships organization, which helps English footballers attend an American post-secondary institution to earn a degree and play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

. He joined

Hastings College Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska. History The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. Ha ...

and played for their men's soccer team in the NAIA. He made his debut on October 26, 2018 against the

Bethany Bison Bethany College is a private liberal arts college in Bethany, West Virginia. Founded in 1840 by Alexander Campbell of the Restoration Movement, who gained support by the Virginia legislature, Bethany College was the first institution of higher ...

, scoring his first goal and adding two assists in a 5-0 victory. In his first season, he won the conference title as well as the conference tournament title. He was named a GPAC First Team All-Star in both 2018 and 2019. In 2019, he helped the team to a second place finish at the national

NAIA Men's Soccer Championship The NAIA Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of NAIA men's collegiate soccer in the United States and Canada. It has been held annually since 1959. The most successful program is Quincy (IL), ...

and earned All-Tournament Team honours and was also named a First Team All-America. During his two seasons with Hastings, he scored 14 goals and added 28 assists in 38 matches. In December 2019, it was announced that he would transfer to

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

, beginning classes in January, and joining the men's soccer team in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in the fall. He recorded his first assist on March 17, 2021 against the

Butler Bulldogs The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 season, ...

. On March 29, 2021, he scored his first goal for Creighton in a 3-1 victory over the

Kansas City Roos The Kansas City Roos, known before July 1, 2019, as the UMKC Kangaroos and also sometimes called the Kansas City Kangaroos, are the intercollegiate teams representing the University of Missouri–Kansas City that compete in the National Collegia ...

. He was named to the All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Second Team for the 2021 Spring season (which occurred as the regular 2020 fall season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

). In October 2021, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Week. After the 2021 Fall season, he was named to the USCA All-East Region Third Team as well as the All-BIG EAST Second Team for the second time. After his final season in 2022, he was named to the All-Big East Third Team.

Club career

On 6 October 2016, made his senior debut with

in the seventh tier

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division against

Kingstonian Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...

. He made a further ten appearances the following season, including scoring in an

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

draw against

Aylesbury United Aylesbury United Football Club is a football club based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. They are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at Chesham United's Meadow ground, having been evicted from their ...

on 7 October 2017. In January 2023, he briefly returned to

, now in the eighth tier Isthmian League North Division. However, he soon after signed a professional contract and instead remained with Sudbury on a training stint, without appearing in matches to avoid injury risk. In January 2023, Watson signed with

club

HFX Wanderers HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer le ...

for the 2023 season, with an option for 2024. He had received offers to attend preseason with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

clubs

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

and

Houston Dynamo FC Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establis ...

, but instead opted to sign the guaranteed contract with the Wanderers instead. On 10 June 2023, Watson scored a brace in a 2-0 victory over

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thro ...

to help the Wanderers earn their first victory of the season, earning league Team of the Week honours for the first time.

Career statistics

;Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Callum Living people 2000 births Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Footballers from Chelmsford English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Colchester United F.C. players A.F.C. Sudbury players Creighton Bluejays men's soccer players HFX Wanderers FC players Isthmian League players Canadian Premier League players