Eliot Allen Richards (born 10 September 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 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

Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

club Barry Town United.

Club career

Bristol Rovers

A product of the Rovers youth system, Richards joined the professional ranks at the club in the summer of 2009. He was the first of the group to break into the first team when he made his debut on 20 February 2010, when he came on as a 73rd-minute substitute for

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

in a

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

match against Gillingham. He scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

at Portman Road on 13 August 2011, which Rovers lost 3–2. On 4 December 2011, he scored 2 goals in Rovers 6–1

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 ...

rout against

Totton Totton is a town in the civil parish of Totton and Eling, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. In 2021 it had a population of 28,094. History The name "Totton" means 'Tot(r)ingtun' farm of 'Tot(t)a', "Totton was "Totinctone" in 98 ...

. On 14 April, Richards scored his first hat-trick against Burton Albion in a match Bristol Rovers won 7–1. On 29 September 2012, Elliot Richards scored his first goal of the season in a away match at local rivals

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, the goal proved to be the match winner for Bristol Rovers in a 2–1 Victory. He received his first red card for Bristol Rovers in a 2–1 defeat away against 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 ...

. On 6 May 2014, after Bristol Rovers were relegated to the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

, he, along with 12 other players at Bristol Rovers were released from the club.

Exeter City (loan)

On 7 February 2014, Richards joined

on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season with

Alan Gow Alan Gow (born 9 October 1982) is a Scottish former footballer. As a player he played as either a striker or an attacking midfielder. He is currently under-18s manager of Airdrieonians. Gow started his senior career with his hometown club Cl ...

joining

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

on loan in the opposite direction.

Tranmere Rovers

On 28 May 2014, Richards became new

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

manager Rob Edwards first signing, signing a two-year deal with the club. Richards scored his first Tranmere goal on 23 August against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

. Richards left Tranmere on 2 February 2015 by mutual consent.

Cheltenham Town

Richards signed an 18-month deal with

on 2 February 2015. He rejoined Rob Edwards, who after being sacked by Tranmere had recently been appointed as Cheltenham assistant manager. On 28 March 2015, it was announced that Richards had been diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

. On 4 September he has been given the all-clear in his battle with cancer and aimed to return to the pitch at Christmas. In January 2016, Eliot joined

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. Nicknamed the "R ...

on loan for a month. Richards was released by Cheltenham Town in March 2016.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

On 4 April 2016, Richards signed with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

through the end of NASL spring season, with an option for the remainder of the 2016 season and the 2017 full season, linking up with former Bristol Rovers team-mate and Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell. However, Richards did not play any games in the US before returning to the UK.

Non-league

Richards joined

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

in August 2016 after obtaining international clearance. Two months later he joined

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

club Merthyr Town on loan until 31 December, before signing permanently in January. After ten goals in 52 appearances for the Martyrs, Richards joined league rivals

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

in November 2017, winning promotion at the end of the season. Richards left the Bulls in August 2019 after deciding to join a new club permanently rather than play temporarily elsewhere to earn a new deal. He then re-joined Merthyr for the 2019-20 season. In July 2020, Richards agreed to remain with Merthyr for the 2020-21 season, however on 10 September 2020, Richards moved up two divisions to join

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

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

. In November, Richards sustained multiple injuries in Barnet's

win over

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

, including tears of his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

and

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) In physics (particularly liquid statics), the meniscus (: menisci, ) is the curve in the upper sur ...

. He was released at the end of the season. After 13 months out injured Richards re-joined Merthyr in December 2021. In October 2023, Richards joined

Penybont Penybont (also sometimes spelled Pen-y-Bont) is a small village and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 428. The community includes the settlement of Llandegley. Amenities The vil ...

following a spell with Pontypridd United. In June 2024, he joined Barry Town United.

International career

Richards was called up to the

Wales national under-19 football team The Wales national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Wales and is run by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship held every year. In 2019 the side qualifi ...

in April 2010, for their squad to face Northern Ireland on 5 May. Richards was called up to the Wales Under 21 squad for the first time in August 2012 for their match against Armenia.

Career statistics

References

External links

* (appearances between 2009 and summer 2011) * (appearances from the start of the 2011–12 season onward) {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Eliot 1991 births Living people People from New Tredegar Footballers from Caerphilly County Borough Welsh men's footballers Wales men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Bristol Rovers F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players Hereford F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Pontypridd United F.C. players Penybont F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Cymru Premier players Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Welsh expatriate men's footballers 21st-century Welsh sportsmen