Shaun Williams (born 19 October 1986) is an 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

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for English

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 Gillingham. He has previously played for

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

Sporting Fingal Sporting Fingal Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fine Gall Spórtúil) was an Irish association football club based in Fingal. Between 2008 and 2010, the club played three seasons in the League of Ireland. During their first two seasons they pl ...

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Career

Drogheda United

Raised in

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

in North

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Williams signed for nearby

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

club

at the start of the 2005 season and played with the club's under 21 side for the year. After impressing for the under 21 side, Williams was offered a full-time professional contract with the club which he signed ahead of the 2006 season. Struggling to make his first team breakthrough that year, Drogheda looked to loan him out for the following year for experience.

Dundalk loan

Williams spent the

2007 League of Ireland First Division The 2007 League of Ireland First Division season was the 23rd season of the League of Ireland First Division. The First Division was contested by 10 teams and Cobh Ramblers won the division. Finn Harps were also promoted to the Premier Division a ...

season on loan at

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

rivals

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. He made 25 appearances, scoring 8 goals as Dundalk finished in 3rd place.

Finn Harps loan

He spent the opening half of the 2008 season on loan from

following their promotion to the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

in 2007 via the playoffs. He made 14 appearances, scoring two goals. His first goal came in the opening match of the season as Harps beat fellow Premier Division newcomers

Cobh Ramblers Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC) ( ga, Cumann Peile Chóstóirí Chóbh) is an Irish football club. The club, founded in 1922 and elected to the League of Ireland in 1985, hails from Cobh, County Cork and play their home matches at St. Colm ...

2–1 in

Finn Park Finn Park ( ga, Páirc na Finne) is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats. Facilities The ground is in a relatively dilapidated conditi ...

. He followed that up with his second in three games as Harps beat U.C.D. 1–0. Failing to score in the rest of his appearances for Harps, his loan ended in Summer 2008 as he returned to

for the remainder of the season.

Return from loans

He made his first team debut for the club on 20 July 2008, coming off the bench at halftime for

Sami Ristilä Sami Ristilä (born 15 August 1974) is a Finnish football manager and former player. Player career Ristilä was born in Valkeakoski. Before he joined Drogheda Ristilä played for MyPa, SC Neukirchen, FC Zwolle and FC Haka. He played an import ...

in a 1–0 win over

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

. He went on to make a further 3 appearances before the end of the season.

Sporting Fingal

Williams signed for

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

side

and made his debut away to

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

on 7 March 2009. He scored 10 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions as his side finished 3rd in the league, beating

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

4–2 on aggregate in the Promotion/relegation play-off Final. They also beat

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

to win the

2009 FAI Cup The FAI Cup 2009 was the 89th season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. It began on the weekend ending 26 April 2009 and ended on 22 November 2009 with the final taking place for the first time at Tallaght Stadium. ...

with Williams playing the full 90 minutes of

the Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium ( ga, Staid Thamhlachta) is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of the stadium in July, 1996. The stadium is now ow ...

. He was voted into the PFAI First Division Team of the Year at the end of the season. The 2010 season was Fingal's first ever season in the

but they and Williams took to it well, finishing in 4th place and earning a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

place for the following season. Williams made his first appearances in

European competition The European Competition is a student competition in which students of all ages submit creative, artistic, or written pieces of work on the activities of the European Union. Tendered by European Movement Germany, it is the oldest student competition ...

in July 2010 when he captain his side at home and away to

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as they lost both legs 3–2. Williams was selected in the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

to play a friendly against

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the first ever match at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and r ...

. At the end of the season, Williams won the 2010 PFAI Young Player of the Year award as voted by his fellow players at the end of the season. Just weeks before the 2011 season,

went out of existence due to financial difficulties leaving Williams a free agent.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 16 March 2011, Williams signed for

. Despite making his name as a midfielder, he primarily as a centre-half for the club due to injuries and a small squad. At the end of the 2012–13 campaign, Williams was crowned the MK Dons Player of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year.

Millwall

On 27 January 2014, Williams signed for

on a -year contract for an undisclosed fee. During his time at

he accumulated 290 appearances in all competitions, scoring 22 goals.

Portsmouth

On 25 June 2021, Williams 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 ...

. Williams was released after one season at the club.

Gillingham

On 10 June 2022, Williams signed for

side Gillingham on a one-year contract, reuniting with his former Millwall manager Neil Harris. He made his debut for the Kent side on the opening day of the 2022–23 season in a 2–0 away defeat to AFC Wimbledon. He scored his first goal for Gillingham on 5 February 2023, the only goal in a 1–0 home victory over

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 ...

. On 28 April 2023 it was announced that Williams had signed a new contract with the Kent club.

International career

He made his senior

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

debut at the age of 31 in a 2-0 friendly loss against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in May 2018. Williams scored his first senior international goal for Ireland on 6 September 2018, after coming off the bench against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Ireland's goal tally first.''

Career statistics

''Professional appearances – correct as of match played on 25 March 2023.''

Honours

Millwall *

EFL League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise tw ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Individual *

PFAI Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland Team of the Year (often called the PFAI Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to the group of eleven players voted by their fellow players as having perform ...

: First Division (2009), Premier Division (2010) *

PFAI Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland Players' Young Player of the Year (often called the PFAI Players' Young Player of the Year, the PFAI Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) award is given to the footb ...

: 2010 *

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

Player of the Year:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

*Milton Keynes Dons Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Shaun 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Fingal Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-23 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Drogheda United F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players Sporting Fingal F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players League of Ireland XI players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers