Nevin Saroya (born 15 September 1980, in

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civ ...

) is a retired Thai-English semi-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 ...

. He made one appearance in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for Brentford. Saroya also played for

non-League 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 d ...

clubs Hampton & Richmond Borough,

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 ...

, Hayes & Yeading United, Godalming Town and Maidenhead United. He also had a spell with Brisbane Premier League club Redlands United.

Club career

Brentford

Saroya started his career at Brentford as a youth player and after completing his

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

, he signed a professional contract for the club. He made his debut for Brentford in their 1–1 draw in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

on 22 April 2000, replacing Gareth Graham as a substitute in the 46th minute. After Brentford manager-owner

Ron Noades Ronald Geoffrey Noades (22 June 1937 – 24 December 2013) was an English businessman, best known for his investments in football clubs. He was the chairman of Southall, Wimbledon, Crystal Palace and finally Brentford. He was also the manager o ...

released Saroya in 2001, he admitted he became "disillusioned" with football and stopped playing, despite interest from Conference clubs. Saroya was unemployed for six-months, until he was asked by Wally Downes to help the actors in '' Mean Machine'' with their fitness and skills; saying "I had always got on well with him ownes so he asked me if I would come down here to Yeading and help the actors get fit and show them a few ball skills". Saroya also appeared in the film, and says the other actors and

Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chels ...

"pushed him" to get back into football before an old school friend invited him to train at

Non-League

After a spell at Hampton & Richmond Borough, he signed for

in the summer of 2001. In 2003, he captained Yeading in the

Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...

and a year later, to win the

Isthmian League Division One North 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 teams ...

. Saroya played in Yeading's lucrative

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 ...

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

tie against Newcastle United on 9 January 2005 at

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

, where they were defeated 2–0. He signed an extension to his contract in May 2007, after double-

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...

operation. Following the merger of Hayes & Yeading United, Saroya started the club's first season in the Conference South before being released in December 2008. He joined Maidenhead United in December 2008, after a spell at Godalming Town. Saroya left Maidenhead United in April 2010, to play for Australian club Redlands United in the Brisbane Premier League for six-months, having found out about the opportunity after joining a

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

on Facebook. He returned to Maidenhead United in 2011, but resigned his contract on 1 December 2011 and signed for Beaconsfield SYCOB. Saroya left a year later to join

Southern League Division One Central 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 ...

side Burnham. He retired at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Saroya served as manager of Maidenhead United Women between 2019 and 2021. He took up the role of a Regional Coach with the PFA in September 2021.

Personal life

Whilst playing semi-professional football, Saroya also worked as a

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saroya, Nevin 1980 births Living people English people of Indian descent English footballers English Football League players Brentford F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. players Yeading F.C. players Hayes & Yeading United F.C. players Maidenhead United F.C. players Godalming Town F.C. players Redlands United FC players Beaconsfield Town F.C. players Burnham F.C. players Footballers from Hillingdon Association football defenders