Ben William Nugent (born 29 November 1992) 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Thai League 2 Thai League 2 (), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. Seasons typically run from August to May, with each team playing 34 games : two agai ...

club

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Career

Cardiff City

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Nugent attended

Millfield Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding ...

with his sports scholarships before he joined the academy at

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

in 2007. However, Nugent was released in 2009 by manager Dave Jones. But his youth coach

Neal Ardley Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English professional football manager and former footballer who played as a right midfielder. He is currently the manager of Woking. Ardley was capped at Under-21 level by England. He sp ...

convinced Jones to keep Nugent while he played for Western Premier side

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player, who is the sporting director at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian. Mackay, who played as a Defe ...

tipped Nugent to be a future captain at Cardiff City. His professional debut for Cardiff came on 14 August 2012, in a 2–1 defeat to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in the League Cup. His first league game came on 17 November, when he came on to replace Ben Turner against

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 ...

and was awarded Man of the Match. On 24 November, Nugent made his first league start for the Bluebirds in a 2–1 win at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, and opened the scoring with his first senior goal. Nugent continued to captain the Development Squad, and on 4 January he signed a new deal until 2016. He then went on to start the next day against

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 ...

, which Cardiff lost 2–1, knocking them out of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. Nugent continued to be a part of match-day squads throughout his debut season and was a substitute as Cardiff sealed promotion to the

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 ...

with a 0–0 draw at home against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on 16 April 2013. Nugent was named Cardiff City Young Player of Year 2012–13.

Loan spells

Nugent signed for League One side

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 ...

on 1 August 2013 on loan until 5 January 2014. He had played for Cardiff in a

pre-season friendly 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 sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

two days previously. He made his Brentford debut on 6 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 victory over

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

in the League Cup. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 September, in a 5–3 victory over

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

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 ...

, his third appearance. He scored again in the next round, against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

on 8 October. Nugent made an impact in a 5–0 FA Cup first-round win over Staines Town on 9 November 2013. Having made five appearances for the club, it was announced that Nugent would return to his parent club. On 13 February 2014, Nugent joined League One side

on loan. Nugent made his debut for the club on 14 February 2014, making his first start, in a 0–0 draw against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. Nugent made eleven appearances for the club and returned to his parent club. He was however cup-tied for Peterborough's victory in the

2014 Football League Trophy Final The 2014 Football League Trophy Final was the 31st final of the domestic cup involving League One and League Two teams. The final took place at Wembley Stadium in London on 30 March 2014 and saw Peterborough United beat Chesterfield 3–1, wi ...

. On 11 July 2014, Nugent joined

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

on loan until 4 January 2015. Nugent made his debut for the club on 16 August 2014, making his first start, in a 2–0 loss against Gillingham. Nugent scored his first Yeovil Town goal on 26 December 2014, in a 2–1 loss against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. A week later, Nugent had his loan spell at Yeovil Town extended until the end of the season. Nugent was then sent off in the 26th minute after elbowing George Waring on 10 January 2015, in a 2–0 loss against

. After serving a four-match ban, Nugent made his first team return on 7 February 2015, making a start and playing 90 minutes, in a 2–1 win over

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

. However, his first team opportunities was soon limited, due to a rule limiting numbers of loanees and was told to fight for the first-team place. Nugent went on to make twenty-three appearances and scored once for the club before returning to his parent club.

Crewe Alexandra

On 3 August 2015, Nugent joined League One side

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal. Upon joining Crewe Alexandra, Nugent believed his move to the club could see his career "some much-needed stability". However, on 9 May 2017, Crewe announced that Nugent had been released by the club.

Gillingham

On 15 August 2017, Nugent signed for League One club Gillingham on a one-year contract.

Stevenage

Nugent was offered a new contract by Gillingham at the end of the 2017–18 season, but turned it down and signed for

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

of League Two. He remained with the club until the end of the 2019–20 season until he was released at the end of the season.

Barnet

Nugent signed for

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

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

on 8 September 2020.

Gloucester City

On 7 October 2021, Nugent transferred to

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 Gloucester City.

Angkor Tiger

In July 2023, Nugent signed for

Cambodian Premier League The Cambodian Premier League (, ) is a top association football division in Cambodia and administered by the Cambodian Football League Company (CFLC). Contested by 11 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Cambodian Leag ...

side Angkor Tiger. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 September in a 5–2 defeat by

Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng Football Club (), also known as Svay Rieng or PKR, is a professional football club based in Krong Svay Rieng, Svay Rieng province, Cambodia, that plays in the Cambodian Premier League. The club has won 4 league an ...

Bangkok

On 2 July 2025, Nugent joined

club

Personal life

Nugent finished in the top three in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

national championship, but decided to focus on football instead. Nugent's father Richard was also a footballer and also played for

and

Career statistics

Honours

Cardiff City *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

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 ...

Individual *

Young Player of the Year:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Ben 1992 births Living people Footballers from Welwyn Garden City English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Street F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Angkor Tiger FC players Ben Nugent English Football League players National League (English football) players Cambodian Premier League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cambodia Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand English expatriate sportspeople in Cambodia English expatriate sportspeople in Thailand People educated at Millfield 21st-century English sportsmen