Daniel James Hanford (born 6 March 1991) is a Welsh 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 has played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, and

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Hanford played in the youth system of

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

between the ages of 7 and 16. After spells at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

and

, he joined the

Glenn Hoddle Academy The Glenn Hoddle Academy (GHA) was established in 2008, by former England international footballer Glenn Hoddle. Hoddle set the academy up in the memory of his brother, Carl, a former Tottenham Hotspur player who died aged 40. The academy coach ...

in Spain. He returned to England in 2011 to play for

, although his two-year spell there was marred by the club's financial troubles and his own lack of first team opportunities. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he moved to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

to play for

. After a successful season as a first team regular and winning a cup, he moved to

ahead of the 2014–15 season.

Carlisle United

Hanford joined Carlisle after their relegation to League Two in the 2013–14 season. He was signed on a one-year contract as the understudy to the club's regular goalkeeper Mark Gillespie. He made his debut for Carlisle in September 2014, in a 1–0 win against Tranmere, after Gillespie suffered a groin injury. He made many appearances that season. In 2015–16, Hanford found his chances limited to a couple of cup appearances only due to Gillespie's good form. In May 2016, he was released.

Gateshead

After a successful trial in the summer of 2016, Hanford signed a one-year deal with

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 ...

side

Southport

In May 2018 he joined

on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.

Back to Carlisle

In June 2021,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

based Hanford returned to

as a player and goalkeeping coach to help the first team with his experience.

International career

Hanford has represented Wales at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanford, Dan 1991 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Hereford United F.C. players Floriana F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players National League (English football) players Maltese Premier League players English Football League players Welsh expatriate men's footballers Southport F.C. players Wales men's youth international footballers 21st-century Welsh sportsmen