Dominic James Smith (born 9 February 1996) is an English born

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender for

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

. A product of the

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

youth system, he is eligible to play for Wales, for whom he has represented at Under−19 and Under−21 level.

Club career

Smith joined the

youth system at the age of seven, and was allocated a squad number by manager

Graham Turner Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is third behind only Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games managed. After a ...

in December 2012, making the match-day squad for the first time in a

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

home match against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

where he was an unused substitute in a goalless draw at the

New Meadow New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...

. He signed his first professional contract in February 2014, and spent most of the following season on loan at

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

side Tamworth. He made his senior debut on 4 October, playing in a 2–2 draw away to

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in th ...

in which he was given a yellow card in the 74th minute. He made 23 league appearances for the Lambs and two more in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, scoring the equaliser in a 2–2 home draw against

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

on 8 November. His loan was extended on 31 December, and he was recalled by Shrewsbury on 9 April 2015. Smith made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and Shrewsbury debut in a 4–2 home win over

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 ...

on 10 October 2015, playing the full 90 minutes. Featuring regularly during the 2015–16 season, he signed a contract extension in March 2016, keeping him at the club until summer 2018. Early the following season, Smith joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side Barrow on loan until January 2017, however he was recalled in October 2016 by new manager

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

due to an injury crisis at his parent club. After featuring only infrequently following his recall, Smith subsequently joined

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

side

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

on a half-season loan in July 2017. Hurst hoped that Smith would "catch the eye" during this loan spell, in order for him to secure a future away from Shrewsbury, as he was out of the clubs plans. On his return to his parent club, he was released by mutual consent in March 2018, going on to join local rivals

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...

on a deal until the end of the season. On 11 January 2019, Smith was loaned out to

for one month. After playing five games for the club, it was announced on 13 February, that the loan deal had been extended until the end of the season. However, Smith was recalled by Telford on 26 March 2019. He joined Alfreton on a permanent basis in summer 2019, signing a one-year deal.

International career

Smith is eligible to represent Wales owing to his Welsh grandmother, and made his debut for the Under−19 squad in May 2013. He was called up to the Under−21 squad for the first time in March 2015, making his debut in the 54th minute of a 3–1 win over

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He won his second cap, and made his first start, for the Under−21 side in September 2016, playing the entirety of a 4–0 defeat against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in a

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 na ...

qualifying match.

Style of play

Smith can play at either

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 ...

or right full-back.

Personal life

Smith attended Belvidere School in Shrewsbury as a youngster.

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at shrewsburytown.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dominic 1996 births Living people Footballers from Shrewsbury English men's footballers Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players ca Wales men's under-21 international footballers English people of Welsh descent Southport F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players AFC Telford United players Alfreton Town F.C. players