Christopher Daniel Harold (born 14 July 1992) is an Australian former professional

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who last played as a forward for

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- ...

club

ECU Joondalup Perth RedStar Football Club is an Australian association football, soccer club from Joondalup, Western Australia currently playing in the National Premier Leagues Western Australia and National Premier Leagues WA Women.They are often a very tale ...

. Born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, Harold started his professional career with Gold Coast United in 2010 after coming through the club's youth team. He returned to Perth to play for

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 2012 following the dissolution of Gold Coast United. In January 2020, he joined

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

. Harold featured twice for Australian youth national sides.

Club career

Originally from

, Harold spent most of his childhood in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. In 2009, Harold trained for two weeks at the Manchester United Academy.Gold Coast United Profile
Harold made his first senior debut Gold Coast United on 26 September 2010. He came on as a 77th-minute substitute for Steve Fitzsimmons in the 1–1 draw with

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, ...

at the

Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Football Stadium may refer to: * Sydney Football Stadium (1988), the original stadium which was demolished in 2019. * Sydney Football Stadium (2022) Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, i ...

. In 2012 Harold returned to Perth to sign with

. After 8 years with Perth Glory, Harold departed in January 2020 to join

on a short-term contract. In July 2020, following the suspension of the

2019–20 A-League The 2019–20 A-League, also known as the 2019–20 Hyundai A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 15th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The regular season commenced ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Mariners announced that Harold would not be rejoining the squad for the final four games of the season for personal reasons. In October 2020, Harold retired from professional football aged 28, citing frustration and feeling disenfranchised with the

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 ...

and the sport in Australia. Harold joined former Glory coach

Kenny Lowe Kenny Lowe (born 6 November 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is the manager of Australian side Perth SC. Kenny played for ten clubs in England, and had a stint in Australia also. He later managed Gateshead F.C., Gateshea ...

in the

International career

Harold was selected to tour to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

with the Australian Young Socceroos in March 2010. On 7 March 2011 he was selected to represent the Australia Olympic football team in an Asian Olympic Qualifier match against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

After football

Harold has a law degree and joined a law firm in Perth following his retirement from football. As of 2021, he remains Perth Glory's record A-League appearances holder. In 2023 Harold was nominated and elected to the Football West board of directors.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Gold Coast United: * National Youth League Championship: 2009–2010 Perth Glory *

Premiership: 2018–19

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harold, Chris 1992 births Living people Soccer players from Perth, Western Australia Gold Coast United FC players A-League Men players Perth Glory FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Perth RedStar FC players People educated at Brisbane State High School National Premier Leagues players Men's association football forwards Australian men's soccer players 21st-century Australian sportsmen