Akenhaton Carlos Edwards CM (born 24 October 1978) is a Trinidadian former 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 ...

who plays as a winger or

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for Bury Town. He started his footballing career in Trinidad and Tobago before moving to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

in 2000 for whom he made over 150 appearances. He went on to play for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1 ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

, Ipswich Town and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

. Edwards also made over 90 appearances for the

Trinidad and Tobago national football team The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed the " Soca Warriors", represents the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in international football. It is controlled by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, which is a ...

, scoring four goals. As a member of the squad that competed at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

in Germany, he was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold Class), the second highest state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago.

Club career

Edwards, a right-winger also adept at

, started his professional career at

Defence Force The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces *Ambazonia Defence Forces * Artsakh Defence Army *Australian Defenc ...

in his native Trinidad and Tobago, where he had attended the same school (St Anthony's College in Westmoorings) as future team-mate Kenwyne Jones.

Wrexham

Edwards was later signed by

for £250,000 in 2000, along with Dennis Lawrence and Hector Sam, after a trial. Edwards helped the club win promotion to the Second Division in 2002–03, scoring 10 goals and winning Wrexham's Player of the Year award and being selected for the PFA Third Division Team of the Year along the way. He then added a further five goals the following season as the club finished mid-table, with Edwards again voted into the PFA Team of the Year. However, Edwards suffered a knee injury while on international duty in 2004 that put him on the sidelines for most of the 2004–05 season. The campaign ended in relegation for the club but he won his first silverware in English football in the form of the 2005

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

Luton Town

With his Wrexham contract having expired, Edwards joined

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 system ...

side

in 2005 in a three-year deal on a Bosman transfer. At Luton, he became popular with the fans with his flair and ability, winning the Young Members Player of the Season award in his first season with the club.

Sunderland

Edwards' form attracted a £1.5 million bid from

whom he joined on 2 January 2007, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. Edwards began his Sunderland career brightly and scored five times in the remainder of the campaign. It was his 80th-minute winner against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

that confirmed Sunderland's promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, after

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failed to beat Crystal Palace the following day. Edwards' first season in the top flight was ruined by injury problems though. He suffered a hamstring injury in only the second game and after returning, had a leg fracture that again put him on the sidelines. He managed to return for the final months of the campaign that saw Sunderland retain their Premier League status. After a spree of summer signings left Edwards largely out of contention at his parent club, he joined

side

on 2 October 2008 on a three-month loan. However, he was recalled early by the Black Cats on 20 November after six appearances for Wolves.

Ipswich Town

On 1 September 2009, Edwards and Grant Leadbitter signed for Ipswich Town for a combined fee of £4 million. He scored his first goal for Ipswich in a 1–0 win at Sheffield Wednesday on 20 February 2010. He quickly became a key player at Ipswich, making 30 appearances during his first season at the club. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season on 21 August, scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 away win over Crystal Palace. Edwards played purely as a right winger under

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during h ...

but switched to right-back when Paul Jewell became manager in January 2011. He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win over Doncaster Rovers on 22 January. He only missed one league game during the 2010–11, while also playing a key role as Ipswich made the semi-final of the League Cup, starting in the 1–0 win over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the first-leg at

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internation ...

, while also starting in the second-leg at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacit ...

as Ipswich exited the cup after a 3–0 loss. He continued to be a regular starter in the 2011–12 season. Edwards became Ipswich

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in March 2012. He started all but one league game during the season, with his performances earning him the Players' Player of the Year award for the 2011–12 season. He kept his place as captain the following season, playing a key part in the first-team during the 2012–13 season as Ipswich recovered from a poor start to the season resulting in the sacking of manager Paul Jewell, to pick-up in the second half of the season following the arrival of new manager Mick McCarthy. He scored late winners in 1–0 wins over

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

and

. He made 46 appearances in all competitions during the season. Edwards featured less regularly during the 2013–14 season, scoring once in 18 appearances up until January.

Millwall

On 27 March 2014, Edwards joined fellow

side

on loan until 3 May 2014. His first goal for Millwall on 8 April, netting the winning goal in a 1–0 away win over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium. He made 8 appearances during his loan spell at Millwall. On 21 May 2014, Edwards joined

permanently on a free transfer, signing a contract until June 2015. The veteran started the 2014–15 season in the first-team. On 22 September 2014, he suffered a serious knee injury during Millwall's 0–0 draw against Nottingham Forest ruling him out for the rest of the 2014–2015 campaign. On 24 August 2015, Edwards re-joined Millwall on a short-term deal until January 2016, following his earlier release from the club. He made 22 appearances during the season, helping Millwall reach the

2016 Football League One play-off final The 2016 EFL League One play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2016 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Barnsley and Millwall to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from EFL League One to th ...

, starting at right-back as Millwall lost out 1–3 to Barnsley.

Ma Pau

In October 2016, Edwards joined Ma Pau Stars.

Central FC

Edwards joined Central FC in May 2017 for the

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

on a three-week contract.

Woodbridge Town

In December 2017 Edwards returned to Suffolk to play for non-League club Woodbridge Town. He was appointed joint manager of the club in April 2019. In January 2020 he signed dual registration terms with

Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meetin ...

, allowing him to play for Bury when Woodbridge were not playing.

Bury Town

In September 2020, it was announced Edwards had joined Isthmian League side Bury Town full time for the 2020–21 season after leaving his position at Woodbridge Town.

International career

Edwards made his international debut for the Trinidad and Tobago national team on 5 June 1999 against Grenada in the

1999 Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup, established in 1989, was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. Qualifying tournament Preliminary round Group A ---- ---- Group B ...

, despite never having appeared at any youth level for his country before. After winning that tournament, Edwards went on to become an established international and was part of the team that reached the World Cup Finals for the first time in the country's history and was duly selected for the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He played every minute of their participation during the competition, against Sweden,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, respectively.

Personal life

Edwards was named after Eighteenth Dynasty Ancient Egyptian ruler,

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Edwards goal.''

Honours

Wrexham * FAW Premier Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

promoted: 2002–03 *

: 2004–05 Sunderland *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

: 2006–07 Trinidad and Tobago *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

Individual *

Player of the Year: 2002–03 * PFA Team of the Year: 2002–03 Third Division, 2003–04 Second Division, 2006–07 Championship * Ipswich Town Players' Player of the Year: 2011–12 Medals * TTO_Chaconia_Medal

Chaconia Medal Gold Class: 2006

References

External links

*
Carlos Edwards Profile
on the Soca Warriors Online website {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Carlos 1978 births Living people People from Diego Martin Trinidad and Tobago Seventh-day Adventists Association football midfielders Trinidad and Tobago footballers Trinidad and Tobago international footballers Defence Force F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Central F.C. players Woodbridge Town F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Recipients of the Chaconia Medal TT Pro League players Trinidad and Tobago expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Wales Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in Wales Woodbridge Town F.C. managers Trinidad and Tobago football managers