Charles William Hew Machell (born 25 October 1994) 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

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 ...

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

Precision Football Precision FC is an United Arab Emirates, Emirati association football, football club located in Dubai, that currently plays in the UAE Second Division League. The club plays at Precision Football, a venue founded by club chairman, Sonny Cobbs, too ...

Early life

Machell was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, his father Christopher Machell, a Policeman and his mother Sally Morrison (Nicholson) a nurse. His brother is actor and writer Tom Machell.

Youth career

Machell started his career with his hometown team

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, featuring for Newcastle's academy and played alongside

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Will Hughes William James Hughes (born 17 April 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Crystal Palace. Having graduated a scholarship with Derby County, Hughes made his first team breakthrough during the 2 ...

as an England youth international. The Newcastle born midfielder was in the Magpies' youth academy until he was released aged sixteen. He then spent a brief spell in fellow North East club Darlington's academy before making the decision to move to America to study and continue his football education. In 2013, Machell moved to the US, playing for

Wingate University Wingate University is a private liberal arts university with campuses in Wingate and Hendersonville, North Carolina. It identifies as a university with "Judeo-Christian heritage." The university enrolls more than 3,450 students. It offers 37 ...

and appeared in all 17 matches during his first year at Wingate, starting 10 contests and registered five goals and two assists. The following year saw him winning the 2014

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as ...

player of the year award and was part of an

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

third-team All-American selection. He started all 20 matches as a sophomore, collecting 12 goals and four assist and led the SAC in goals and points. Machell then spent one season with the

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

after transferring from Wingate Bulldogs and helped propel ETSU to its first at-large appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2016, starting in 18 matches for ETSU and finished the 2016 season with three assists.

Club career

Thisted FC

After completing his studies, Machell attended trials with US clubs as well as a combine in New York with several Danish agents and coaches in attendance. He was then approached by an agent and also the head coach of

Thisted FC Thisted Fodbold Club () is an association football club based in the town of Thisted, North Jutland, Denmark, that competes in the Danish 2nd Division, the third tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1989, it is shortly known as ' ...

who invited him on a pre-season trial with the club. Machell then signed his first professional contract after he penned a one-year contract with

of the

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

. In total, he made 19 appearances in the Danish second tier for

in his one and only season with them.

07 Vestur

Machell then moved on to top flight Faroe Islands side

07 Vestur 07 Vestur is a Faroe Islands, Faroese football (soccer), football club, which was founded in 2007. It is located in Sandavágur and Sørvágur on Vágar island. History The club was founded 18 December 1993 as FS Vágar. It was a merger of Vág ...

Svay Rieng

Machell then signed for

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

n side

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 and ...

for the

2019 C-League 2019 Metfone C-League is the 35th season of the C-League. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Cambodian Second League. 2019 season clubs Teams *Notes; * Kirivong Sok Sen Chey and two other teams w ...

season. He helped the team to an unbeatable tally of 65 points from 25 games, sealing up the title for the provincial side.

Hougang United

Machell signed for Singaporean side

Hougang United FC Hougang United Football Club is a professional football club based in Hougang, Singapore. The club competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singaporean football. Founded in 1998 as Marine Castle United, the club changed its na ...

for the

2020 Singapore Premier League The 2020 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since ...

season, where the club will also be participating in the

2020 AFC Cup The 2020 AFC Cup was an abandoned season of the AFC Cup which was the 17th edition of the competition, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was suspended due to the COVID- ...

. Machell made his competitive debut and scored his first goal for the Cheetahs in Hougang's

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

debut, smashing in an unstoppable half-volley into the back of the net and helping his new club to a 3–1 win over

Lao Toyota Football Club Chanthabouly, also known as FC Chanthabouly, previously known as Lao Toyota Football Club for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football club based in Vientiane, Laos, currently competing in the Lao League 2. The club has won ...

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

. In February 2021, Machell returned to Cambodia to join

Visakha Visakha (; ), also known as Migāramāta, was a wealthy aristocratic woman who lived during the time of Gautama Buddha. She is considered to have been the chief female patron of the Buddha. Visakha founded the temple Migāramātupāsāda (meanin ...

Perak

On 17 June 2021, it was announced that Machell had joined

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

side

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

Al-Ttihad

In January 2022, Machell joined

Oman Professional League The Oman Professional League (; known as the ''Omantel Professional League'' for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Omantel Elite League, is the top division of the Oman Football Association, and was officially created in 1976. Curren ...

side Al-Ittihad Club.

FC Tucson

In March 2022, Machell returned to the US to join

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

side

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women's team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then joine ...

Lexington SC

In January 2023, Machell joined newly-formed

side Lexington.

One Knoxville

Machell signed with One Knoxville of

on 25 January 2024.

Al Qabila

On September 23, 2024, Machell was sent on loan to Al Qabila of the

UAE Third Division League UAE Third Division League is the fourth tier of football league competition in the United Arab Emirates, the league is organised by UAE Football Association for private funded clubs. The league was established for the 2021–22 season. 12 teams ...

. In February 2025, Machell was playing for

UAE Second Division League UAE Second Division League is the third tier of football (soccer), football league competition in the United Arab Emirates, the league is organised by United Arab Emirates Football Association, UAE Football Association for private funded clubs a ...

side

Club career statistics

Honours

Club

Svay Rieng *

Cambodian 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 Secon ...

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 ...

Individual

Player of the Year: 2014

References