Theo Jay Wharton (born 15 November 1994) is a
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
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 the
Saint Kitts and Nevis national team.
Early and personal life
Wharton was born in
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
, Torfaen,
[ and is the son of former footballer Sean Wharton and godson of former footballer Nathan Blake.]
Club career
Early career
Wharton played for Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
-based side Race Juniors and helped the team to Tesco Cup
The Tesco Cup was an association football competition for young footballers ran in the United Kingdom and sponsored by the retail group Tesco. There were three separate tournaments, a boys' Under 13, a girls' Under 14 and a girls' Under 16. Any te ...
final at the City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
.[
]
Cardiff City
Wharton started his career at Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
, playing for their under-18 side during the 2011–12 season. His impressive form for the youth team resulted in a first-team call up by manager Malky Mackay
Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Ross County. Mackay, who played as a defender, began his playing career in Scottish football with Quee ...
for the 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 ...
game against West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...
, in which he came on as a substitute. Following his debut, Mackay admitted that Wharton would train with first team and had a "big future ahead of him". On 29 March 2012, Wharton signed his first professional contract which would keep at Cardiff until at least June 2014.
Wharton joined 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 Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...
on 23 March 2017 on loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
.
York City and Nuneaton Borough
Wharton signed for newly relegated National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
club York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
on 30 June 2017 on a one-year contract. He joined York's divisional rivals Tamworth on 22 December 2017 on a one-month loan. Tamworth's attempts to extend his loan for the rest of the season were unsuccessful, and he finished his spell at the club with four appearances.[ Wharton made nine appearances for York][ as they finished 2017–18 in 11th place in the table. He was released at the end of the season.
Wharton signed for National League North club ]Nuneaton Borough
Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football.
In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...
in July 2018.
Hereford
Wharton signed for National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
club Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
on 22 December 2018.
Barry Town United
Wharton signed for Cymru Premier
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 200 ...
club Barry Town United on 13 January 2020.
International career
Wharton was first selected for the Wales national under-17 team for the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round, starting two matches 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 Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. Wharton was called up to the Wales under-21 team to play Moldova on 22 March 2013. On 9 September 2014, Wharton made his Wales under-21 debut in a 1–1 draw against Lithuania under-21s.
In 2016, Wharton chose to switch allegiance to play for Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...
, the country where his grandparents were born. He made his debut for the side on 13 November 2016 in a 2–0 defeat to Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''As of match played 14 October 2018. Saint Kitts and Nevis score listed first, score column indicates score after each Wharton goal.''[
]
References
External links
Profile
at the Nuneaton Borough F.C. website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Theo
1994 births
Living people
Footballers from Cwmbran
Welsh men's footballers
Wales men's youth international footballers
Wales men's under-21 international footballers
Saint Kitts and Nevis men's footballers
Saint Kitts and Nevis men's international footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Cardiff City F.C. players
Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Tamworth F.C. players
Nuneaton Borough F.C. players
Barry Town United F.C. players
National League (English football) players
Welsh people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent
Cymru Premier players
Hereford F.C. players
Black British sportsmen