Ben Anthony Starkie (born 23 July 2002) is a

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 an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Truro City Truro City Football Club is an Association football in England, English football club based in Truro, Cornwall. They currently compete in the National League (English football), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. Born in England, he plays for the Tanzania national team.

Club career

A youth product of

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

, Starkie moved to Shepshed Dynamo on 16 July 2021. On 13 November 2021, he transferred to Spalding United. In August 2023, Starkie 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

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 ...

. On 23 September 2023, he joined Ilkeston Town on a dual-registration basis. In September 2024, Starkie joined Southern League Premier Division Central club Harborough Town. He was part of the team that qualified for the first round 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 ...

for the first time in the club's history. After defeating

Tonbridge Angels Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional association football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded as Tonb ...

4–1 in the first round, they met

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the second round, losing 5-3 in extra time. Starkie featured in both matches. On 7 August 2025, Starkie joined newly promoted

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

on an initial one-year deal.

International career

Starkie was called up to represent the Tanzania U17s on 30 January 2019, becoming the first ever international call-up from

SV Wilhelmshaven SV Wilhelmshaven is a German association football club from Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony. SV Wilhelmshaven play in the Regionalliga Nord. SV Wilhelmshaven was founded in 1905. Since 1999, Wilhelmshaven's stadium is the Jadestadion. History Pre ...

He represented the Tanzania U20s at the

2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations The 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations was the 16th edition (23rd edition if editions of the tournament without hosts are included), the biennial international youth association football, football tournament organized by the Confederation of African ...

. He was called up to the senior Tanzania national team for a set of friendlies in March 2022. He debuted with Tanzania in a 3–1 friendly win over

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

on 24 March 2022.

References

External links

*
Pitchero profile

Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkie, Ben 2002 births Living people Tanzanian men's footballers Tanzania men's international footballers Tanzania men's under-20 international footballers English men's footballers Tanzanian people of English descent English people of Tanzanian descent Men's association football midfielders SV Wilhelmshaven players Shepshed Dynamo F.C. players Spalding United F.C. players Basford United F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. players Harborough Town F.C. players Truro City F.C. players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Tanzanian expatriates in Germany Tanzanian expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Germany 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Tanzanian sportsmen