Stephen Iain Kingsley (born 23 July 1994) is a Scottish 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 ...

who plays for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

club Heart of Midlothian and the Scottish national team. He has previously played for Falkirk, Swansea City, and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, as well as appearing for

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

and

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

on loan.

Career

Falkirk

Aged 16, Kingsley made his first-team debut for Falkirk on 12 April 2011 in a 2–1 win versus Partick Thistle in the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...

. He sustained an injury in a 2011–12 Scottish League Cup tie against

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...

that kept him out of action for over three months. He returned to the starting lineup in a League Cup win against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. In March 2013, Kingsley signed a new contract with Falkirk. Kingsley made his 100th appearance for Falkirk on 5 April 2014, in a 5–0 victory over

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

. He was also voted in to the SPFL Championship Team of the Year for season 2013–14.

Swansea City

On 30 June 2014, Kingsley signed for Swansea City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 18 February 2015, Kingsley joined

English 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 ...

side

on a month's emergency loan which was later extended until the end of the season. Kingsley played in numerous positions in his 12 appearances for the Glovers including

left-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 ...

, centre-back and

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

, and received praise for his versatility from Yeovil boss

Terry Skiverton Terence John Skiverton (born 26 June 1975) is an English former footballer who enjoyed a long playing career at Yeovil Town for 11 years, appearing 382 times in all competitions, before becoming their manager and subsequently, assistant manage ...

. Yeovil were subsequently relegated to

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 ...

at the end of the season and Kingsley returned to Swansea City. Kingsley joined

side

on an emergency loan in August 2015. He made 12 appearances for them before returning to Swansea after the emergency loan expired in November. He made his Swansea City debut in their

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 ...

3–2 defeat away to

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 10 January 2016. He made his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

debut on 2 March 2016 in Swansea's 2–1 victory away to Arsenal.

Hull City

Kingsley moved to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

in August 2017 for an undisclosed fee. He was released by Hull at the end of the 2019–20 season.

Heart of Midlothian

Kingsley signed a one-year contract with Hearts on 6 October 2020. He played and scored for Hearts in the 2020 Scottish Cup Final, which finished 3–3 after extra time, but his effort in the subsequent

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

was saved by Conor Hazard as Hearts lost 4–3 on penalties. On 21 January 2021, Kingsley signed an 18-month contract extension with Hearts, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2021–22 season. He further extended his Hearts stay in January 2022, signing a three-and-a-half year contract and keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025. Kingsley quickly became known as an efficient taker of the

direct free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either direct or indirect, distinguished as follows: ...

, scoring several long-range strikes for Hearts since joining. He scored what proved to be the match-winning goal in the semi-final of the 2021–22 Scottish Cup – an Edinburgh derby against Hibernian – from a 30-yard free kick, albeit assisted with a wall pass from Liam Boyce.

International career

In April 2012 Kingsley was called up to the Scotland under-18 squad for two games against Serbia in Belgrade on the 17th and 19th of the month. He played 90 minutes in the first game, which ended 1–1, and 60 minutes in the second game, where Scotland won 4–1. In season 2012–13 he appeared for Scotland under-19s against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and 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 ...

. He was selected for the squad for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualification matches in October, playing in the third game against Switzerland. This was followed in March with an appearance in the friendly match against Sweden. In May he played in two of the Elite qualifying round games in Belgium against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In March 2015, Kingsley made his Scotland under-21 debut in a 2–1 win against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. This was followed up with four appearances for the side against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

twice, Northern Ireland and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in their Euro Championship Qualifying group. On 20 May 2016, Kingsley received his first call-up to the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

for their friendlies against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

. He made his Scotland debut as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat against France, on 4 June 2016. Kingsley was recalled to the national team squad in September 2022 as a replacement for the injured Kieran Tierney and

Scott McKenna Scott Fraser McKenna (born 12 November 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer, who plays as a defender for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Scotland national team. McKenna has also previously played for Aberdeen as well as A ...

. He appeared as a substitute in a goalless draw with

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

that secured a promotion for Scotland 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 ...

Career statistics

International

Honours

;Falkirk * Scottish Challenge Cup:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

;Heart of Midlothian *

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

: 2020-21

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsley, Stephen 1994 births Living people Scotland men's international footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scotland men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Premier League players Scottish footballers Footballers from Stirling