Edward James Upson (born 21 November 1989) 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 ...

for club Bury Town. Upson has previously been capped for England at under-17 and under-19 level.

Club career

Ipswich Town

He scored the winning goal for Ipswich Town against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

final in 2005 when he was 15, and signed a professional contract at the age of 17. In 2008, he was loaned to Stevenage Borough, where he made one substitute appearance on 2 September against Kettering Town. He made his Ipswich debut as a substitute in a

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

match at Shrewsbury Town on 11 August 2009. The match went to penalties after a 3–3 draw and Upson scored one of the penalties to help Ipswich through to the next round. After being scouted on many occasions by Barnet manager Ian Hendon, Upson joined the Bees on loan from 12 March 2010 for one month, and made his debut coming on as a second half sub for Albert Jarrett in the 1–1 home draw with Burton Albion. Upson was released by Ipswich at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Yeovil Town

He joined Yeovil Town on a two-year contract at the start of the 2010–11 season. He scored his first goal for Yeovil in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

in 2010. On 13 August 2011, he scored his first league goal from outside the area in a 3–1 win over

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, and went one better with a strike from 30 yards to seal a 1–0 win against

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

on 13 September 2011, this goal was later nominated for Mitre Goal of the Year. He also scored twice in the FA Cup, with goals in the 3–0 win over Hereford United, and the 2–2 draw with Fleetwood Town. On 6 May 2013, Upson scored an 85th-minute goal in the 2013 Football League play-offs, to help Yeovil beat Sheffield United 2–1 on aggregate, to taking Yeovil to Wembley for the playoff final. A

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

final which they won 2–1 earning promotion to the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

for the first time in the club's history. On 3 August 2013, Upson scored the winning goal as Yeovil won their first ever game in the

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 sys ...

, to secure a 1–0 victory at

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Millwall

On 31 January 2014, Upson signed for

club,

, for an undisclosed fee signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 3 June 2016, Milton Keynes Dons announced that Upson had signed a two-year deal with the club and would join the squad on 1 July 2016 following his release from fellow League One club

. On 16 August 2016, Upson scored his first goal for the club, scoring in the 94th minute in a 1–2 home defeat to Bradford City. On 26 November 2016, Upson scored twice in a 1–2 away win over Coventry City.

Bristol Rovers

On 22 May 2018, it was announced that Upson would leave recently relegated MK Dons and join Bristol Rovers effective from 1 July 2018 upon his contract ending at Milton Keynes. Upson made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 2-1 defeat at Peterborough United and scored his first goal for the club on 28 August 2018, a consolation goal in the 87 minute of a 3-1

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

defeat to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. Upson went on to score one more goal in the 2018–19 season, bundling in a corner in a 2-0 victory over

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

. Upson's time at the club came to an end at the end of the 2020–21 season, a season that saw Rovers relegated to League Two bottom of the league.

Newport County

On 20 June 2021, it was announced that Upson had agreed a deal to join Newport County on a one-year deal, officially joining the club on 1 July 2021. He made his debut for Newport on 7 August 2021 in the starting line-up for the 1-0 League Two win against Oldham Athletic.

Stevenage

On 4 January 2022, Upson joined former loan club Stevenage on a deal until the end of the season.

Non-League

On 23 June 2022, Upson joined Stowmarket Town. Upson previously played for Stowmarket as a youngster. On his 1st game of the season Upson scored a hatrick for the Gold and Blacks. It was revealed in June 2023 that he had been released from the final year of his contract following an agreement being reached. On 20 June 2023, Upson signed for his hometown club Bury Town on a two-year deal On 3 May 2025, he scored a 94th minute winner as Bury Town defeated Brightlingsea Regent 1–0 to win the Isthmian League North play-off final. His retirement was announced via a twitter post via Bury Town

International career

Upson came on as a substitute for the England national under-19 team against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in September 2007.

Career statistics

Honours

Ipswich Town *

: 2004–05 Yeovil Town * Football League One play-offs: 2012–13 Bury Town *

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

North Division play-offs: 2024–25

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Upson, Ed 1989 births Living people Footballers from Bury St Edmunds English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Ipswich Town F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Stowmarket Town F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen