Augustus Athel Hurdle (born 14 October 1973) is a former 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 played as a defender. Born in England, he represented

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

at international level.

Club career

Hurdle began his career with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, but never made an appearance for the team. After a year spent in non-league football with

Dorchester Town Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England. They currently play in the . The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They ...

, Hurdle signed for

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 ...

in 1994, making 90 appearances over the next four seasons. After leaving Brentford in 1998, Hurdle signed for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, but never made a league appearance for the team and left after just a month, moving to non-league side

Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks',the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently compe ...

. Hurdle later played non-league football for

Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town Football Club is a football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Winklebury Sports Complex. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'Never a step backward' ...

. While at Basingstoke, Hurdle spent a loan spell at

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

. Hurdle also appeared for a number of other non-league sides, including

Whyteleafe Whyteleafe is a village in the district of Tandridge, Surrey, England, with a few streets falling inside the London Borough of Croydon. The village, in a dry valley of the North Downs, has three railway stations (on two parallel lines). Neighbouri ...

, Carshalton Athletic, St Albans City,

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

Yeading Yeading ( ) is a settlement in west London, forming part of the London Borough of Hillingdon, having been developed after the Second World War. Etymology Yeading is very early Saxon and was originally ''Geddingas'' or ''Geddinges'', meaning "the ...

Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retai ...

, Egham Town and Walton & Hersham.

International career

Hurdle represented

at international level. In March 2000, he turned down a chance to play internationally to help

in their

Southern Football League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

relegation battle, stating he would prefer to play against

saying it was the "bigger game". He said: "Crawley's need is far greater than that of Barbados. They'll be able to get a result without me, but it's big match for Crawley and a game we can't afford to lose". He has also represented a Caribbean All Stars team in an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

at the

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in March 1999.

Personal life

After leaving Fulham and prior to returning to professional football in 1994, Hurdle worked as a bus driver. As of May 2011, he was working as a production manager in television.

References

External links

* * 1973 births Living people Black British sportsmen English footballers People with acquired Barbadian citizenship Barbadian footballers Barbados international footballers Fulham F.C. players Dorchester Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Bognor Regis Town F.C. players Whyteleafe F.C. players Basingstoke Town F.C. players Carshalton Athletic F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Yeading F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. players English Football League players Molesey F.C. players Egham Town F.C. players Association football defenders English sportspeople of Barbadian descent {{Barbados-footy-bio-stub