Graham Ward (born 25 February 1983) is a professional

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 most recently played for

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 ...

club

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...

, where he played as a defender.

Playing career

Ward played his youth football with St Josephs Boys AFC football club based in south

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Ward began his career as a trainee with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in 2002, despite being the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Under 20s captain, he failed to land himself a place in the first team. With the club reaching the Premiership, Ward was released by manager Dave Jones.

Kidderminster Harriers

Ward moved to

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

just prior to the start of the 2003–04 season on a one-year contract. Ward was part of the side that made the 3rd round of the FA cup before losing to the club that released him the season before. He produced a man of the match display during the replay at Molineux. During his time with

, Ward made 21 appearances, but failed to find the net during this time. He also became KHFC first ever International Player representing Ireland at the World Cup in Dubai at Under 20 level.

Cheltenham Town

On 1 August 2004, Ward joined

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

. His time with the club again only lasted one season playing just two games. He spent the latter part on loan with

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

where he played three games and scored one goal the first of his professional career.

Tamworth

On 13 May 2005, Ward joined

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

club Tamworth, where he teamed up with former

teammate Bob Taylor. Ward was part of the team that made the third round of the FA cup where he scored in the 1st round and beat AFC Bournemouth, and Hartlepool before losing to Championship side Stoke on Penalties. Ward played every game during the 2005 season.Ward leaves Lambs
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Worcester City

On 27 November 2006, Ward joined

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

after spending time with the club previously on loan. ward made over 200 appearances for the club before leaving to join Nuneaton town, Ward Joined Nuneaton but struggled with two knee injuries during his time. Ward made over 20 appearances and was eventually promoted to the conference before calling time on his career at the age of 28 after medial advice.

International career

Ward represented the Republic of Ireland Under-16 team at the

2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship The 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 18th edition of UEFA's European Under-16 Football Championship. Israel hosted the championship, during 1–14 May 2000. 16 teams entered the competition, and Portugal defeated the Czech Republi ...

, the Under-19 team at the

2002 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the first edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, after the previous Under-18 competition was reclassified. The tournament was held in Norway, between 21 July and 28 July 2002. The top t ...

and at the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

. He also has 3 Under 21 International caps.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Graham 1983 births Burton Albion F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Tamworth F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Association footballers from Dublin (city)