Michael James Duckworth (born 28 April 1992) is an English 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 plays as a

right-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 club

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. He will sign for

Scarborough Athletic Scarborough Athletic Football Club is an association football club based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The club was formed on 25 June 2007 as a phoenix club following the winding up of Scarborough Football Club. After spending thei ...

on 1 July 2024. He has played in the

English 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 Engl ...

for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

and

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

Early life and career

Early career

Duckworth was born in

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river above the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In rela ...

, Lower Saxony, Germany and lived there for six months before being raised in Rawcliffe, York, England. He started playing for his local team in Rawcliffe aged five, before joining

's youth team aged 10. Duckworth signed a two-year scholarship with York in May 2008 after graduating from the club's Centre of Excellence. However, he was released after failing to earn a professional contract in May 2010. Duckworth moved into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

in October 2010 when signing for

Harrogate Railway Athletic Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Station View. History The club was established in 1935 by employees of the London and Nor ...

of the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Division One North. He signed for

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

in August 2011 and made 24 appearances, scoring 6 goals, in the 2011–12 season as they won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

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 ...

via the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-offs. He made 43 appearances in 2012–13 and won the club's Supporters' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards.

Football League

Duckworth went on trial at

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

in July 2013 after being recommended to them by Bradford Park Avenue

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

John Deacey. His trial was a success and he signed a month-to-month contract with Hartlepool on 22 August 2013. He made his professional debut two days later after playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat against

. In September 2013, Duckworth was rewarded for his early season form by signing a new contract for a longer period to extend his stay at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

. On 30 July 2014, Duckworth signed a new deal with the club on undisclosed terms. His goal in a 3–3 away draw against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

was nominated for the Football League Goal of the Year and was later voted as the tenth best Football League goal of the 2010s. Duckworth signed for

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 ...

club Fleetwood Town on 17 June 2016. On 31 January 2017, he joined League Two club

on loan until the end of 2016–17.

Return to non-League

Duckworth signed for newly promoted

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 ...

club

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

on 5 August 2017 on a one-year contract. Duckworth re-signed for York City, with the club now in the

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 ...

, on 13 August 2020. In York City's retained list at the end of the 2023–24 season, it was announced that Duckworth would depart the club at the end of his contract. On 16 May 2024, it was announced that Duckworth would sign for National League North club

once his contract with York expired.

Style of play

Having joined Bradford Park Avenue as a winger or a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, he was converted by manager John Deacey into playing as an attacking

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Supporters' Player of the Year: 2012–13 *Bradford Park Avenue Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13

References

External links

Profile
at the York City F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Michael 1992 births Living people People from Rinteln Footballers from Lower Saxony Footballers from York English men's footballers Men's association football defenders York City F.C. players Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English Football League players