Ashley Williams - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Ashley Williams

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(1 users)

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60%

Born
1984 (39 years old)

Birth Place

Wolverhampton, England

Position
Centre-Back

Status
Retired

Ethnicity

Team Number

Height
183 cm

Weight
77 kg

Outfitter

Kit

Side

Agent

Wage Year

Player Manager ID
5111198

Player Cutout

Player Action Render

Sport

Soccer

Team
_Retired Soccer

2nd Team

League
_No League Soccer

Creative Commons Artwork
No

Description
Available in:

Ashley Errol Williams (born 23 August 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

After being released from West Bromwich Albion as a teenager, Williams played for non-league side Hednesford Town before turning professional at Stockport County in 2003, later becoming their captain. In March 2008, he was loaned to Swansea City, and after helping them win League One title, signed for a then club record £400,000. He amassed 352 appearances for the Swans, scoring 14 goals. He aided them in their promotion to the Premier League and their victory in the 2013 Football League Cup Final.

In August 2016, he signed a three-year contract with fellow Premier League side Everton for a fee of £12 million. Williams was a regular in his first season at Goodison Park but eventually fell out of favour and he spent the 2018–19 season on loan at Stoke City. Upon his release by Everton, Williams signed a short-term deal with Bristol City in August 2019 which was extended in November of that year. He left the club at the end of the 2019–20 season and announced his retirement in January 2021 at the age of 36.

Born in England, Williams qualified to play for Wales through his maternal grandfather. He made his debut for them in March 2008 and earned 86 caps, scoring twice. He captained the team at Euro 2016, where Wales reached the semi-finals.

Williams qualifies for the Wales national team through his maternal grandfather Bill Rowlands from Gelli, Rhondda. He made his international debut on 26 March 2008, two days before securing his move to Swansea City. In the match, he played the full 90 minutes for John Toshack's men in their 2–0 friendly away win in Luxembourg, making an early error through a poor backpass to goalkeeper Lewis Price, but recovered possession in time.

On 1 April 2009, Williams scored an own goal in a 2–0 loss to Germany in qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, deflecting Mario Gómez's cross at the Millennium Stadium. He captained the country for the first time on 14 November in a 3–0 friendly win over Scotland at the Cardiff City Stadium. On 11 October 2010, he scored his first international goal in a 5–1 friendly win over Luxembourg in Parc y Scarlets, finishing a header from debutant Steve Morison.

In October 2012, Williams was named captain of Wales by manager Chris Coleman, replacing Aaron Ramsey. Coleman, who by that point had not won in his four matches, awarded the armband to Williams on account of his experience over the younger Ramsey. The decision was criticised by Raymond Verheijen, the assistant to Coleman's predecessor, Gary Speed.

On 31 May 2016, Williams was named in Coleman's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, Wales' first major tournament for more than half a century. On 1 July in Lille, Williams headed the equalising goal, against Belgium in the quarter-finals as Wales eventually won 3–1 to progress to the semi-finals for the first time in their international football history. In the semi-final, Wales lost 2–0 to Portugal.

Williams earned 86 caps for Wales and scored two goals with his last cap coming in June 2019 in a 1–0 away loss to Hungary.

Williams is of Jamaican descent through his father and of Welsh descent through his mother. In his time at Hednesford Town, Williams supported himself with various jobs including at a petrol station, as a waiter at Beefeater, and running a sideshow at Drayton Manor.

In December 2010, Williams established the charity WillsWorld with his wife Vanessa, with a view to helping under-privileged children. He is also a patron of Street Football Wales which fights social exclusion, and the Ethan Perkins Trust, which raises funds for research, support and awareness into childhood brain tumours.

Williams was a Liverpool fan as a child and his favourite player was John Barnes. He also likes basketball and supports the Miami Heat.