Joshua Neil Law (born 19 August 1989) is an English 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 lea ...

who plays as a defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Basford United Basford United Football Club is a football club based in Basford, a suburb of Nottingham, England. They are currently members of the and play at Greenwich Avenue. History Basford United was formed in 1900 at the Old Pear Tree Inn.

. He has played in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

for

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

and in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

Early and personal life

Born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, Nottinghamshire, Law is the son of the former Chesterfield manager Nicky Law and brother of fellow professional footballer, also called

Nicky Nicky is a diminutive form of the name Nicholas, Nicola and Nicole, occasionally used as a given name in its own right. Sometimes it is spelled as Nikki, Niki. It can also be used as a diminutive of Dominic. People Sports * Nicky Adams (born ...

. In June 2015, Law got married in New York, United States, with his brother Nicky as his best man.

Career

Chesterfield

Law started his apprenticeship with Chesterfield in 2005, before signing his first professional contract in July 2007. He made his first-team debut against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

in September 2007, seeing a shot cleared off the line and another hitting the bar.

Alfreton Town

He joined

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

club

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

, managed by his father, on a three-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 ...

in October 2007. At the end of the loan, the deal was extended until the end of the 2007–08 season. After being released by Chesterfield upon the expiry of his contract, Law made a permanent move to Alfreton in the 2008 close season. After his first full season at the club, Law signed a one-year contract and then the following summer signed another one-year contract. During his time at the club, Law played in both full back and midfielder position. At the end of 2010–11, Law was given the Players' Player of the Season Award. He was also named in the 2010–11 Conference North Team of the Season. At the end of 2011–12, Law signed another one-year contract with the club. In May 2013, Law signed another one-year contract with the club. Law spent seven seasons at Alfreton and made over 250 appearances, where he was one of the longest serving players at the club at the time.

Motherwell

On 21 May 2014, Law completed a free transfer to

club

, the same club his brother Nicky had played for previously, on a one-year contract. Law said he hoped the move to Motherwell would help him "establish myself in my own right and make a name for myself". Law made his first competitive appearance for Motherwell on 17 July 2014, in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

second qualifying round first leg match against

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan (, ), commonly known as Stjarnan (), is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær. Basketball Men's basketball As of the 2017–2 ...

, in which he scored both Motherwell goals in a 2–2 draw at

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

. Law also played in the second leg, but Motherwell lost 3–2, being eliminated 5–4 on aggregate. Half-way through the season, Law changed role, moving into defence as a right-back, starting against

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 10 January 2015. Law's performance soon earned him the club's Player of the Month award for February. In 2014–15, Law made 40 appearances, scoring twice. On 27 May 2015, Law signed a new two-year contract with Motherwell. Law played in both legs as a right-back against his brother, as Motherwell beat

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

6–1 on aggregate to stay in the Scottish Premiership.

Oldham Athletic

On 9 July 2016, having asked to leave Motherwell for family reasons, Law signed for

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

on a one-year contract. He scored his first goal for Oldham in a 2–1

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

win against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

on 9 August 2016. He was released at the end of 2016–17.

Later career

Law signed for newly relegated

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

club

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 ...

on 3 July 2017 on a one-year contract. He was released at the end of the 2018–19 season. Law signed for

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Premier Division club

on 11 May 2019 as a player and youth coach.

Style of play

Law primarily plays at right back but can also play in midfield.

Career statistics

Honours

Alfreton Town *

2010–11 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 ...

Individual *Conference North Team of the Year: 2010–11

References

External links

Profile
at the Basford United F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Josh 1989 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Chesterfield F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players York City F.C. players Basford United F.C. players National League (English football) players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Northern Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen