Benjamin Andrew Warland (born 4 September 1996) is an Australian 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 defender 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

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

Early and personal life

Warland was born in

Gawler, South Australia Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor of South Australia, Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. ...

. His father was a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

player with Gawler Central Football Club. Warland was encouraged by his father to play Aussie rules, but since he was too young at the time, he was instead enrolled in soccer with Gawler Eagles in the under-6. He then joined

Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakden, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide. The club was a founding member of the now-defunct National Soccer League (NSL) and currently competes in the National Premier ...

and Campbelltown City in their junior age groups before moving to the AIS at the age of 14. Warland is married to Olivia Warland (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Alarcón) and has two children, a daughter (born December 2021) and a son (born November 2023).

Club career

Adelaide United

In August 2013, Warland was invited by

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

to train with their first-team until the end of the month. Picked up by

Josep Gombau Josep Gombau Balague (born 5 June 1976) is a Spanish professional football manager. He is a former Barcelona youth team coach and has held multiple positions at the club's youth academy. Career Born in Amposta, Tarragona, Catalonia, Gombau w ...

, Warland signed on a two-year contract with Adelaide in September 2013 and was set to join in the following season. He began playing for Adelaide United Youth in their A-League Youth and

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a men's national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state- ...

campaign in 2015. Warland made his first-team debut on 25 April 2015 in a 4–1 league victory over Melbourne City at Coopers Stadium. He remained with the Youths after the conclusion of the 2014–15 A-League season, and extended on a two-year deal with the club in November 2015. Warland made his starting debut on 25 February 2017 in a 2–1 loss against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

. Warland was ruled out in pre-season during Adelaide United's 2017–18 season with a thigh injury from international duty. He featured as a substitute on 24 October 2017 in a 2–1 semi-final cup victory against

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Leumeah, a suburb in South Western Sydney, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground ...

. Warland started in the 2017 FFA Cup final as a result of

Ersan Gülüm Ersan Adem Gülüm (; born 17 May 1987) is a former professional footballer who last played as a centre back for Preston Lions in the NPL Victoria 3 and current president of Hume City FC. Born in Australia, Gülüm played for Australia at unde ...

becoming injured. Adelaide United finished runners-up after losing 2–1 to

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

. Warland was released in January 2018, having asked the club to leave due to playing time.

Sydney FC

Following his release, Warland signed on a one-and-a-half-year deal with Sydney FC. He made his debut as a substitute for the club on 13 March 2018 in a goalless draw against

Kashima Antlers The are a professional association football, football club based in Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan. They currently play in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese ...

in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

. Four days later, Warland made his

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

debut in a 2–1 defeat to

, and featured as a substitute on 29 March 2018 in a 3–2 victory over

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

, in which Sydney FC claimed their second consecutive Premiership. Warland scored his first goal for the club, and first in his professional career, on 1 August 2018 in a 4–2 cup win against

Rockdale City Suns Rockdale Ilinden Football Club (commonly known as Rockdale City Suns Football Club from 1992 to 2020) is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Rockdale, Sydney. Founded in 1969, by Macedonian Australians, the club ...

. He suffered from a foot injury a month later after colliding with a teammate in training and was ruled out for three months, missing the remainder of the

2018 FFA Cup The 2018 FFA Cup was the fifth season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams contested the competition proper (from the round of 32), including the 10 A-League teams and 21 Football Federation Au ...

campaign. Sydney FC lost the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

to his former side Adelaide United. Warland extended with Sydney FC on a two-year contract in October 2018, shortly after his injury. He was replaced by Jacob Tratt, who signed on a short-term injury replacement contract, in November 2019. Warland made his return from injury on 19 January 2019 against

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

, however, after a match against Melbourne City, returned to the sidelines with an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

on 17 March 2019. He was out for a further 12 months after receiving surgery. During his rehab, Sydney FC won the 2019 A-League Grand Final on penalties against Perth Glory at

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...

. In February 2020, Warland was named on the bench against Central Coast Mariners, but did not feature in the match. He missed the entirety of the 2019–20 A-League season and eventually started his return to training full-time in June 2020. Warland made his return on 19 November 2020 in an

match against Shanghai Port. On 22 January 2021, Warland scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

, extended by Alou Kuol in a 2–0 defeat to Central Coast Mariners, making it the first defeat for Sydney FC of the season and in seven years against the Mariners. Warland renewed on a two-year contract with the Sky Blues in February 2021, and played in the 2021 A-League Grand Final against Melbourne City. He was released by the club in June 2022.

Return to Adelaide United

In June 2022, Warland returned to

from

. He signed a two-year deal. In May 2023, he was released from Adelaide United after his contract expired. He played 33 league games and scored 3 goals with his second stint with Adelaide United.

Honours

Sydney FC *

Premiership: 2017–18, 2019–20 *

Championship:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warland, Ben 1996 births Living people Men's association football defenders Australian men's soccer players Adelaide United FC players Sydney FC players National Premier Leagues players Sportspeople from Gawler, South Australia 21st-century Australian sportsmen