Ben Hedley (born 18 October 1998) 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

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

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. He previously played in the

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

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

, as well as 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 ...

for Witton Albion and

Bradford (Park Avenue) Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

Playing career

Hedley came through the

Academy to make his first-team debut on 6 May 2017, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for

Aaron Wildig Aaron Keith Wildig (born 15 April 1992) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Southern Football League club Gloucester City Club career Cardiff City Wildig was born in Hereford, and began his career at Cardiff City, making his ...

in a 3–1 defeat at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He signed his first professional contract with the club the following month. On 15 August 2017, he joined

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 Witton Albion on an initial one-month loan; "Shrimps" manager

Jim Bentley James Graham Bentley (born 11 June 1976) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre back. He was most recently the first team manager at Southport F.C. Playing career Bentley debuted for Telford Unite ...

said that "he'll be in good hands at Witton with the management (Carl MacCauley and Gary Martindale) who are both good football people that I trust to do right by Ben". His loan spell was extended into a second month after he impressed in his first eight starts for the club, and was extended a second time. He scored his first senior goal on 14 October in a 5–2 victory over Coalville Town at

Wincham Park Wincham Park is a football stadium in Wincham, a parish on the edge of Northwich, England. The home ground of Witton Albion F.C., Witton Albion, it first opened in 1989, after the club left their former Central Ground. Capacity is 4,813, with 6 ...

, and finished the loan spell with 19 appearances in all competitions. Hedley was named Morecambe's Reserve Team Player of the Year for 2017–18. In 2018–19, he featured twice in the

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 ...

, and made his first

start on 23 October 2018 in a 1–0 defeat at home to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

; the ''

Lancashire Post The ''Lancashire Post'' is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. Until 14 January 2017 it was known as the ''Lancashire Evening Post''. According to the British Library The British Library ...

'' described it as a "solid debut". Despite being named as a substitute on 38 occasions, he made no more league appearances and was released at the end of the season. On 7 June 2019, Hedley joined

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

, managed by Garry Thompson with whom he had played at Morecambe. Thompson was dismissed just two matches into the season, and Hedley played in seven before leaving for another National League North club,

, in early September.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedley, Ben 1998 births Living people Footballers from Gateshead English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Morecambe F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players 21st-century English sportsmen