Mikhail Caolan Patrick Kennedy (born 18 August 1996) is a Northern Irish 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

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 ...

for Dergview. He also represented his country up to under-21 level. He played four professional matches for

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 ...

club

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, scoring once on his debut. He was loaned to several non-league and Irish teams before retiring from professional football at age 23 due to injury in 2020.

Club career

Born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Kennedy was in

's under-18 team, and then their under-21 side for the 2014–15 season, under the management of Jason Euell. On 10 December 2014, he signed a professional contract until the summer of 2015. Later that month, he was loaned to nearby

VCD Athletic VCD Athletic Football Club (short for Vickers, Crayford & Dartford Athletic Football Club) is a semi-professional football club based in Crayford in south-east London, England. The club was founded in 1916, during the First World War, as a compa ...

of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

, where he scored within three minutes of his debut in a 1–1 draw at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

on the 13th. On 16 January 2015, he returned to VCD on a month-long loan. Kennedy was first included in a Charlton matchday squad on 16 August 2015, remaining an unused substitute in their 2–1 Championship win over Hull City at The Valley. Nine days later, he made his debut in the second round of the League Cup, opening a 4–1 win away to Peterborough United with a third-minute goal. On 19 September, Kennedy made his first appearance in

The 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 ...

, playing the first 61 minutes of a 3–0 loss at Blackburn Rovers before being replaced by

Igor Vetokele Igor Mavuba Vetokele (born 23 March 1992) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Belgian First Division A club K.V.C. Westerlo, Westerlo. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Ango ...

. In December 2015, he extended his contract by two-and-a-half years. On 15 February 2017, Kennedy was loaned to hometown team

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

of the League of Ireland until June. He did not score during his time at the Brandywell Stadium, with manager

Kenny Shiels Kenny Shiels (born 27 April 1956 in Magherafelt)Marshall Gillespie, ''The Northern Ireland Football Yearbook 1996/97'', UTV Books, 1996, p. 59 is a former Northern Irish football player and manager, who is currently the manager of the Northern Ir ...

preferring to play Nathan Boyle as a lone striker. He signed a new six-month contract with Charlton at the end of the 2017–18 season. On 26 December 2018, Chelmsford City announced the signing of Kennedy on a one-month loan deal. He played seven games for the

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club and scored in his last, a 3–1 win at

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 ...

on 26 January. On 28 March 2019, Kennedy joined

Concord Rangers Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...

on loan for a month, again in the National League South. He was released by Charlton in May, and in July he trialled at Institute in his hometown. In May 2020, over a year after last playing, Kennedy stated that - following medical advice - he would be retiring from professional football at the age of just 23. However, in August 2021, Kennedy signed for semi-professional NIFL Championship team Dergview.

International career

Kennedy played for Northern Ireland's under-17 team in

2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the twelfth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship since the re-organising of age group competitions in 2002. Slovakia were hosts of the tournament with games taking place at four ...

qualification, scoring in two

elite round In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

games as they finished last in their group. On 21 March 2013, two minutes after replacing Ross Lavery, he scored as Northern Ireland came from behind to draw 2–2 with the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Uden Uden () is a town and former municipality in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Maashorst. History Uden was first recorded around 1190 as "Uthen". However, earlier settlements h ...

. Two days later, he equalised in a 2–1 loss to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. On 5 September 2015, Kennedy scored in the seventh minute of a 2017 European Championship qualifier for Northern Ireland under-21, albeit in a 1–2 loss to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

References

External links

Flash Score profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Mikhail 1996 births Sportspeople from Derry (city) Association footballers from Northern Ireland Association football forwards Charlton Athletic F.C. players VCD Athletic F.C. players Isthmian League players English Football League players League of Ireland players Northern Ireland youth international footballers Northern Ireland under-21 international footballers Derry City F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Concord Rangers F.C. players Dergview F.C. players Living people