Benjamin James Everson (born 11 February 1987) is an English

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 lea ...

who plays for

Dandenong City Dandenong City Soccer Club, commonly as Dandenong City Hajduk and formerly known as Chelsea Hajduk, is an Australian soccer club based in the South-East region of Melbourne, Victoria. The club's home is at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex in the su ...

as a striker. He previously played for Norton & Stockton Ancients,

Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on ...

, Guisborough Town,

El Paso Patriots El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the South ...

Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the Un ...

, West Texas United Sockers, Tindastóll, Breiðablik,

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

AFC United Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish professional football club based in Eskilstuna. The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching owne ...

and KA Akureyri.

Career

Early career

Born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, North Yorkshire, Everson attended Newlands School FCJ and

Middlesbrough College Middlesbrough College, located on one campus at Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, is the largest college on Teesside. Admissions It provides predominantly further education, but also selected higher education provision, and ...

, graduating in 2005 after helping the college team win two National Championships in three appearances at the National Finals. He then became a student at

Teesside University Teesside University is a public university with its main campus in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in North East England. It was officially opened as ''Constantine Technical College'' in 1930, before becoming a polytechnic in 1969, and finally g ...

, based in Middlesbrough. Everson played for a number of local

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

sides, first playing for Norton & Stockton Ancients before joining

in February 2005. During the summer he agreed to stay at the club for the 2005–06 season, before playing for Guisborough Town the

following ''Following'' is a 1998 British independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, directed, photographed, and edited by Christopher Nolan in his feature film directorial debut. It tells the story of a young man who follows strange ...

season. Everson also played

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

for

Middlesbrough Futsal Club Middlesbrough Futsal Club is an English futsal club based in Middlesbrough in the North East of England, which played in the FA Futsal League. The club was founded in 2007 and played their home matches in Thornaby-on-Tees: a town in the Borough ...

in 2007, helping them win the York Futsal Open the day after the club was founded. He played for Middlesbrough in the

FA Futsal Cup The FA Futsal Cup is a national competition organised by the Football Association in the game of futsal. In 2005, Doncaster College for the Deaf became the first disability side to win a major open football competition. Winners (Men) *2003 - Sheff ...

finals, scoring 10 goals in five appearances, and competed in the Futsal Premier League as the team finished in second place.

United States

Everson earned a three-year football scholarship with

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in and the county seat of Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area ...

in 2007, having undergone trials with several universities in the United States. He scored on his collegiate debut with West Texas' first goal of the season, in a 2–1 victory over the

University of Texas of the Permian Basin The University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB) is a public university in Odessa, Texas, United States. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTPB was authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1969 and founded in 1973. UTPB is now home to ove ...

. He finished the 2007 season with 14 goals, equalling the sixth-highest number of goals scored in a season for West Texas. His 31 points was the highest of any player in the team that season, and is the eighth highest recorded by a West Texas player in a season. As a result of his contributions, he was named a member of the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

All-Midwest Region first team, in addition to being named the SSC Freshman of the Year. He was named the SSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year ahead of the 2008 season, which he began with two successive goals in a 6–0 win over

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of hig ...

. Later in the season he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in West Texas' 5–0 win over the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. After scoring 13 goals and recording 28 points in the 2008 season, Everson was named the SSC Offensive Player of the Year and was included in the NSCAA

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division II Men's all-South Central Region Team. Everson also played for

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side the

during the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

season, scoring one goal in eight appearances. His 15 goals and one assist in the 2009 season helped West Texas to their highest national ranking in the team's 19-year history. For the second time in three seasons, he recorded more points than any other player in the team, with 31. Everson earned the LSC Offensive Player of the Week award after scoring twice in a 7–1 win over the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Following the season's close he was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, as well as being selected for the all-LSC first team. In addition, he was named the South Central Region Player of the Year and the all-American second team, before being included in the NSCAA South Central Region team. He left West Texas in top place in the LSC Men's Soccer leaderboards in goals (42) and shots (214). Everson continued his football career in the United States with the

of the USL Premier Development League, joining at the start of the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

season. Having scored twice in six games for the Academics, he signed for league rivals West Texas United Sockers late into the team's inaugural 2009 season and scored five goals in six league appearances. Everson also scored in the Sockers' 2–1 Divisional Semifinal win over

Austin Aztex U23 Austin Aztex U23 was an American soccer team based in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the franc ...

on 22 July 2009, before playing in their 1–0 defeat to the

Laredo Heat Laredo Heat Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in Laredo, Texas. The team competes in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, as a member of the Lone Star Division. The team plays its home games at the PEG Energ ...

in the Divisional Final on 25 July. He finished the season with eight appearances and six goals for the Sockers. Everson returned to Middlesbrough Futsal Club for the 2010 season, having briefly returned in early 2009 to play in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

. After making two appearances for Middlesbrough, in which he scored six goals, he resumed his studies and football career at West Texas A&M University. He was named the LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, having led the LSC in shots (77), points (31) and goals (19) in the 2010 season. He graduated in 2010, having spent a total of four years at West Texas, before attending

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He returned to play for the Sockers for the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

season, and having finished the season with two goals in six outings was invited to take part in a training camp with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

in January 2011. Everson stayed with the Sockers and played for them during the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

season, making 11 appearances and scoring three goals.

Iceland

He signed with

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic 1. deild karla side Tindastóll in April 2012, making his debut after starting a 2–0 defeat away at

Haukar Knattspyrnufélagið Haukar (, ) is an Icelandic multi-sport club from Hafnarfjörður with divisions in Association football, Football, Haukar Handball, Handball, Basketball, Haukar RC, Rugby union, Karate, Skiing & Chess. Club history The clu ...

on 12 May 2012. His first goal came with Tindastóll's second goal in a 4–2 home defeat to ÍR on 2 June 2012. Having scored seven goals in 11 appearances for Tindastóll, Everson signed for Breiðablik of the

Úrvalsdeild The Besta deild karla () is a professional association football league in Iceland and the highest level of the Icelandic football league system. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in I ...

in July 2012. He made his debut as a 64th minute substitute for Haukur Baldvinsson in a 1–0 victory at home to ÍBV on 29 July 2012. Everson scored on his second appearance with the winning goal in the first minute of

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the ga ...

, securing his team a 4–3 away win at Valur on 8 August 2012. He finished the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

season with one goal in nine appearances for Breiðablik, as they qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round after finishing second in the league.

York City

Everson returned to England after signing for League Two side

on a contract until the end of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season on 15 January 2013. He made his debut on 19 January 2013 as a 71st-minute substitute for Jamie Reed in a 0–0 home draw with

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

. Having struggled for opportunities in the team, Everson joined

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

side

on a one-month

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

on 21 February 2013. He made his Gateshead debut the following day as a 66th-minute substitute for

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

in a 4–0 win at

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

. Everson scored on his next appearance, in a 2–1 home defeat to

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team of the ...

on 2 March 2013. The loan was later extended until the end of the season, which he completed with two goals in 11 appearances. Having made two appearances for York he was released by the club on 30 April 2013.

Return to Iceland

Everson agreed a return to Iceland on 3 May 2013, signing for 1. deild karla club

BÍ/Bolungarvík The Vestri men's football team, commonly known as Vestri, is the men's football department of the Íþróttafélagið Vestri multi-sport club and is based in Ísafjarðarbær, Iceland. As of 2024, it plays in the Icelandic top-tier Besta deild ka ...

ahead of the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

season. He made his debut in a 1–0 away win at

Íþróttafélagið Völsungur Íþróttafélagið Völsungur (, ) is an Icelandic multi-sport club from the town of Húsavík located on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi Skjálfandi (; also known as Skjálfandaflói ) is a bay in northern Iceland, wi ...

on 9 May 2013, before scoring his first goal in the following match, a 2–1 home win over Þróttur on 18 May.

Dandenong City

In February 2018, Everson joined

National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 The National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria or NPL VIC) is a semi-professional association football, soccer league in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level w ...

side

, where he scored 15 times in 28 games.

Style of play

Everson plays as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, and York

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Gary Mills described his style of play saying: "He likes to score goals and has done that wherever he's been. He works very hard and gets in good areas".

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Everson, Ben 1987 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Norton & Stockton Ancients F.C. players Shildon A.F.C. players Guisborough Town F.C. players El Paso Patriots players IMG Academy Bradenton players West Texas FC players

Ben Everson Benjamin James Everson (born 11 February 1987) is an English Association football, footballer who plays for Dandenong City SC, Dandenong City as a Forward (association football), striker. He previously played for Norton & Stockton Ancients F.C., ...

York City F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players

USL League Two players

AFC Eskilstuna players Hawke's Bay United FC players 1. deild karla players

English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Football League players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland English men's futsal players Alumni of Teesside University West Texas A&M University alumni 21st-century English sportsmen