Chris Walker (born 12 November 1973) is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

former footballer. Walker played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

from 1994 until January 2007. He previously played for First Liverpool, a minor league club based in east Belfast. He is a Glentoran supporter, growing up close to the club's home,

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

. A fan's favourite, Walker has the club badge tattooed on his thigh. In 2006 Walker had a testimonial match against

The New Saints F.C. The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, also known as The New Saints ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed y Seintiau Newydd) or TNS, are a professional football club that currently play in the Cymru Premier. They are the most successfu ...

, (previously known as TNS) which Glentoran lost 2–1. Former Glens player Jim Cleary featured in the match. Cleary's reason for playing was that if he played he would not be overtaken by Walker on attendances before his 50th birthday. On 12 January 2007 he left Glentoran to join

Armagh City Armagh City was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland. Boundaries This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Armagh in County Armagh. It was the successor constituency to the Armagh City constituency of the Parliament of ...

, after a loan spell at the club. In August 2008 Chris Walker signed for Amateur league side Sirocco Works who play their football in Division 1A where he became player manager. However Walker would later return to the Oval to take charge of Glentoran's Under-17 side. Walker's son November 2008 to Jaxon Roy Kelly, born in November 2008, died of

meningococcal disease Meningococcal disease describes infections caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria meningitidis'' (also termed meningococcus). It has a high mortality rate if untreated but is vaccine-preventable. While best known as a cause of meningitis, it can al ...

on 24 March 2011.Glentoran hero's heartbreak as son dies of meningitis
/ref>Jaxon Roy Kelly
/ref>

Honours

(1994–2007) ** Irish Premier League: ''1998/99, 2002/03, 2004/05'' **

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

: ''1995/96, 1997/98, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04'' **

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

: ''2000/01, 2002/03, 2004/05'' **

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...

: ''1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03'' ** Gold Cup: ''1994/95, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01''

External links

Official site

References

Glentoran F.C. players Armagh City F.C. players Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland 1973 births Living people Men's association football defenders {{NorthernIreland-footy-bio-stub