George Christopher Williams (born 7 September 1995) is a 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, rugb ...

who plays as a winger for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

. He has previously been capped for the

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

national team at several age groups including seven caps for the senior team. Between 12 November 2011 and 1 September 2020, Williams was the record holder for being the youngest ever player to score in 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 compet ...

at the age of 16 years and 66 days following his goal for

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 ...

in a 6–0 win over

Nantwich Town Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed ''The Dabbers'', a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in and pla ...

Club career

Milton Keynes Dons

Born in Milton Keynes, Williams joined the academy of

at a young age and progressed through several age groups alongside future England international

Dele Alli Bamidele Jermaine Alli ( ; born 11 April 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Beşiktaş, on loan from Premier League club Everton. Born and raised in Milton Keynes, he joined the youth s ...

. On 12 November 2011, at the age of 16 years and 66 days, he made his first team debut and scored in a 6–0 home

first round win over

. In doing so, Williams became the youngest ever player to score in the history of the competition, as well as becoming the club's youngest ever goalscorer.

Fulham

On 14 June 2012, Williams joined

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 ...

side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

as a first year academy scholar for the 2012–13 season after an undisclosed compensation package was agreed between the two clubs. Following his move to Fulham, MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman said he was disappointed seeing Williams leave the club, and told the club's official website: ''"We are very disappointed that George has chosen not to take up his scholarship or the offer of a professional contract with MK Dons and has instead decided his future is best served with Fulham"''.

Loan spells

On 16 February 2015, Williams rejoined

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 youth loan for the remainder of the 2014–15 season, but his loan was cut short by an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

, keeping him out for between four and six months. On 12 February 2016, Williams joined League One side Gillingham on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season. On 29 July 2016, Williams returned to Milton Keynes Dons on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. On 31 January 2018, Williams joined

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 ...

side St. Johnstone on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Forest Green Rovers

On 12 June 2018, Williams signed for League Two club

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

. On 4 September 2018, He scored his first goal for the club in a 4-0

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL L ...

win over

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

Grimsby Town

On 13 August 2020, Williams signed a two-year contract with League Two team

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. Following on from Grimsby's relegation from the Football League at the end of the 2020–21 season, Williams was deemed surplus to requirements and was transfer listed by manager

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

with the player being made available on a free transfer. On 11 August 2021, Williams was released by Grimsby by mutual consent, he played 23 times for The Mariners, scoring twice in all competitions but had struggled to break into Hurst's team after initially being brought to the club by previous manager

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League ...

Barrow

On the same day as his release by Grimsby, it was announced that Williams had joined Barrow in August 2021. He was released at the end of the season.

Boreham Wood

On 14 July 2022, Williams signed for

club

. In February 2023, he joined

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pl ...

on loan until the end of the season.

International career

Williams qualifies for Wales through his mother and represented Wales at under-17 and under-19 levels. On 5 March 2014, Williams made his Wales under-21 debut as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. On 27 May 2014, he was called up to the senior Wales squad for a friendly match against Holland to be played on 4 June 2014 as a replacement for the injured

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

. He made his international debut as a replacement for Jonathan Williams in the 70th minute of the match. Williams was included by manager Chris Coleman as a member of Wales'

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

squad that reached the semi-finals of the tournament, although he did not make an appearance.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, George 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Milton Keynes Footballers from Buckinghamshire Welsh people of English descent Welsh footballers Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Wales men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Boreham Wood F.C. players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players UEFA Euro 2016 players