Angel Michael Mathaiya Waruih (born 9 December 2003) 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, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central 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

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

. Waruih is a product of the

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and he began his professional career with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in 2022. Following two seasons of B team football, Waruih's senior career began in

non-League football 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 ...

with Eastleigh.

Career

Plymouth Argyle

, Waruih began his career in

's Advanced Development Centre at the age of five, before joining the club's

at age 9. He progressed through the academy and was a part of the club's 2018

SuperCupNI SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...

Super Vase-winning team. Waruih signed a two-year scholarship deal at the end of the 2019–20 season and was a part of the U18 team which won the 2020–21 EFL Youth Alliance Merit League One title. Waruih won calls into two

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

squads during the 2021–22 season and made his only senior appearance for the club with a start in a 2–0 group stage defeat to Newport County on 31 August 2021. He was released at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Brentford

Following a successful trial, Waruih transferred to the B team at

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

on 24 August 2022 and signed a one-year contract, with a one year option. He made six appearances during the B team's

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Premier League Cup-winning campaign. The one-year option to extend Waruih's contract was exercised at the end of the 2022–23 season, with a further one-year option attached. He was released at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Eastleigh

On 25 June 2024, Waruih transferred to

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

and signed a one-year contract, with a one-year option, effective 1 July 2024. Waruih made 46 appearances during a mid-table 2024–25 season and his performances were recognised with the club's Young Player of the Year award. The one-year option on his contract was take up at the end of the campaign.

Style of play

Waruih is a deep-lying midfielder and "has the capability to push further forward and play as a number eight too".

Personal life

Waruih is of

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

n descent. He attended

St Boniface's Catholic College St Boniface's Catholic College is a secondary school for boys, under the direction and trustees of the Roman Catholic Community in the Plymouth area in the South West of England. Founded in 1856 as an independent boarding and day school for "you ...

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford B * Premier League Cup:

Individual *

Young Player of the Year: 2024–25

References

External links

*
Angel Waruih
at eastleighfc.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Waruih, Angel Living people 2003 births People educated at St Boniface's Catholic College English people of Botswana descent English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players National League (English football) players 21st-century English sportsmen