Ben McCormack (born 4 April 2003) is an Irish 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

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

club

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, having previously played for St Patrick's Athletic, where he started his career.

Club career

Youth career

A native of Harmonstown,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, McCormack started out with top Dublin academy

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

, where he earned the opportunity to play for the DDSL representative side at the prestigious Kennedy Cup in 2017, in which he played a starring role in the final as his side won the competition. He moved to the academy of

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

club St Patrick's Athletic in November 2017. His first season with the club saw him winning the league and cup double with the under 15 side. In October 2019, he was part of the under 17 team that won the 2019 league title, beating Bohemians 4–0 in the final at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

with McCormack scoring twice at

. On 22 December 2020, he played in the

League of Ireland U19 Division The League of Ireland U19 Division is the under-19 division of the League of Ireland. The current division is the successor of earlier U21 and U20 divisions. Like the Premier Division and First Division, the U19 Division is currently sponsored ...

Final, in a 2–1 win over Bohemians

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

at the

UCD Bowl The UCD Bowl, also known as the Belfield Bowl, is a rugby union and football stadium in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is the home ground of University College Dublin R.F.C. in the AIB All Ireland League and League of Ireland Premier ...

to secure a

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

spot for the club. McCormack made his

debut on 29 September 2021, scoring his side's goal in a 2–1 loss to

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n side

Crvena Zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. He was part of the side that won the

in 2022.

St Patrick's Athletic

2019 season

He made his senior debut for St Patrick's Athletic on 1 November 2019 in a Leinster Senior Cup Semi-Final tie away to Sheriff YC, with McCormack in the starting 11 of a game in which a Pats team made up of academy players won 3–1 after extra time. On 21 December 2019, McCormack signed his first professional contract with the club, signing a 2-year contract until the end of 2021.

2020 season

On 26 September 2020, McCormack made his

debut when he replaced Darragh Markey from the bench in the 75th minute of a 2–0 win over Shelbourne. With the season shortened due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, his only other appearance of the season came on 28 October 2020, coming off the bench for a late cameo in a 3–2 loss away to

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

2021 season

The

2021 season 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 ...

proved to be his breakthrough season in senior football, starting his first senior game for the club on 20 April 2021 in a 1–0 win over

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

. On 6 July 2021, McCormack signed a long-term contract extension with the club, alongside teammate Darragh Burns. His first goal in senior football came on 22 July 2021, when he headed home an Ian Bermingham cross to put his side 3 goals up in an eventual 6–0 win over

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

in the first round of the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

. With McCormack proving to be a key player off the bench for his club, making 26 appearances in all competitions over the season, he damaged his ankle ligaments playing for the Republic of Ireland U19's in October 2021, which ultimately resulted in him missing the 2021 FAI Cup Final which his side won on penalties against Bohemians at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

on 28 November 2021.

2022 season

McCormack's progress stalled at the beginning of the 2022 season under new manager Tim Clancy, having to wait until 1 April 2022 for his first appearance for the first team, while returning to play games with the club's under 19 side. On 18 April 2022, McCormack replaced Jason McClelland from the bench in the 72nd minute away to UCD with his side trailing by a goal, he scored the equaliser 3 minutes later before assisting the winning goal with a cross from a corner in the 89th minute of a 2–1 victory. On 6 November 2022, he scored the final goal in a 4–0 win over Shelbourne in the last game of the season.

2023 season

Having made just 4 appearances in the club's first 11 games of the season under Tim Clancy, McCormack regained his place in the team under newly appointed manager

Jon Daly Jonathan Barney Daly (born April 14, 1977), sometimes credited as Jonathan C. Daly, Jon C. Daly, or Jon Daly, is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer best known for his sketch comedy work on the Comedy Central series ''Kroll Show''. ...

and on 15 May 2023, he scored his first goal of the season, scoring an 84th-minute equaliser 11 minutes after entering the pitch in a 3–2 loss to

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...

. On 2 June 2023, he picked up 3 assists in the same game, all coming from corner kick deliveries, in a 3–1 win away to UCD at the

. His form under

Daly A disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a measure of overall disease burden, representing a year lost due to ill-health, disability, or early death. It was developed in the 1990s as a way of comparing the overall health and life expectancy of d ...

saw him among the nominees for the League of Ireland Player of the Month award for June 2023, although he eventually lost out to Patrick Hoban. On 12 July 2023, McCormack made his first appearance in European competition in a 2–1 loss against

F91 Dudelange F91 Dudelange (; , ) is a Luxembourgish professional Association football, football club based in Dudelange which plays in the Luxembourg National Division. It was formed in 1991 as a merger between three teams in the town: Alliance Dudelange, ...

in the first qualifying round of the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

at the

Stade Jos Nosbaum The Stade Jos Nosbaum is a Association football, football stadium in Dudelange, in southern Luxembourg. It is currently the home stadium of F91 Dudelange. Until 1991, it was the home of US Dudelange. The stadium has a capacity of 2,558. Refer ...

. On 12 November 2023, McCormack was part of the squad for the 2023 FAI Cup Final, as his side produced a 3–1 win over Bohemians in front of a record breaking

Final crowd of 43,881 at the

. He struggled for consistent game time, featuring in 22 of the club's 36 league games, with just 8 of those coming in the starting team and only 1 start in the second half of the season. This lack of minutes saw him linked with a move to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

Waterford

On 29 December 2023, it was announced that McCormack had signed for newly promoted

for an undisclosed fee. He scored 4 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions in his first season with the club, before signing a new 1 year contract with the club on 13 November 2024.

International career

McCormack has represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

at U15, U16, U17 and U19 level. He made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U15 team on 6 March 2018, in a 2–0 win over Cyprus U15 in a friendly at

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...

. He scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland U16 team on 11 September 2018, opening the scoring in a 4–2 win away to Bulgaria U16 in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. He was part of the U16 squad that took part in the 2018 Victory Shield in November 2018. He was voted the Under-16 International Player of the Year for 2019 at the FAI International Football Awards. McCormack scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland U17s in a 2–0 win over Russia U17 at the

Estadi Olímpic Camilo Cano Estadi Olímpic Camilo Cano is a stadium located in the Spanish town of La Nucía. The venue is part of the Camilo Cano Sports City. The stadium is mainly used for soccer and athletics, and is the home of the CF La Nucía, which plays in the Seg ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His debut for the U19s came in a 2–2 draw with Sweden U19.

Career statistics

Honours

;St Patrick's Athletic *

(2):

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2018–19 ;Waterford * Munster Senior Cup (1): 2023–24 ;Individual * FAI Under-16 International Player of the Year (1): 2019

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Ben 2003 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Belvedere F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Waterford F.C. players League of Ireland players Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers 21st-century Irish sportsmen