Ryan Townsend (born 2 September 1985) is an Australian

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 ...

Biography

Townsend was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, but was raised in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia. His father was a former professional footballer, George Townsend. After growing up in Australia he returned to the UK having earned a place in

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

's youth development set-up. Townsend could have stayed at Burnley but they could not extend his contract due to

ECU Joondalup Perth RedStar Football Club is an Australian soccer club from Joondalup, Western Australia currently playing in the National Premier Leagues Western Australia and National Premier Leagues WA Women. Their home ground is the RedStar Arena at the ...

(his club in Perth) demanding a large development fee.http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=80194 Townsend instead returned to Perth where he started to train with Perth Glory before playing two games in 2005 on a short-term contract. Townsend then joined Wanneroo City in the

Football West State League The National Premier Leagues Western Australia is a regional Australian semi-professional soccer league comprising teams from Western Australia. The league name is often abbreviated to NPL Western Australia or NPL WA. As a subdivision of the N ...

, before he was offered a full-time contract with Perth Glory in place of

Daniel Vasilevski Daniel Vasilevski (born 4 September 1981 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian footballer who plays for Altona Magic SC in the Victorian State League Division 1. Vasilevski is renowned for his quality delivery from set-plays and ...

for the

A-League 2006-07 A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

season. He was released four games before the end of the A-League season after a single appearance and then decided to play in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

with

Persiba Balikpapan Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Balikpapan, commonly known as Persiba Balikpapan, is an professional football club based in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The club plays in Liga 2, after relegation from Liga 1 in 2017 season. The club ...

until 2008.

Australian career

He has played for the Australian U20 side, the "Young Socceroos", three times. A highlight for Townsend was scoring against Japan in the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

References

1985 births Living people Footballers from Manchester Australian soccer players Australian expatriate soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England English footballers A-League Men players Burnley F.C. players Wanneroo City SC players Perth Glory FC players Persiba Balikpapan players English Football League players Expatriate footballers in Indonesia Men's association football central defenders {{Australia-footy-bio-stub