Finley Tapp (born 9 November 1999) is an English television personality and semi-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 most recently played for

Banbury United Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium. History The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...

. In 2020, Tapp won the sixth series of the

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

reality series ''

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

''. Prior to appearing on the show, Tapp was a semi-professional football player for non-league club Oxford City, having previously played as a professional for

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

. He returned to football in 2023 with Banbury United.

Club career

Milton Keynes Dons

Tapp joined

' academy at the age of 8, progressing through various age groups and into the club's development squad. On 10 November 2016, whilst still an academy player, Tapp was named as a substitute for the first team's

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

group stage fixture against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. After coming on as a 76th-minute substitute, Tapp scored in the 84th-minute in an eventual 4–1 defeat. Tapp signed professional terms with the club on 17 May 2018, signing a one-year deal with an option of a further year. He made his professional debut for the club on 28 August 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–0

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 ...

second round defeat away to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

. Following limited first team opportunities during the first half of the 2018–19 season, Tapp joined seventh-tier club

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. Founded in 1892, it last competed in the Isthmian League, until it was dissolved in 2022. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known ...

until January 2019. Tapp was later one of ten players released by Milton Keynes Dons at the end of the season.

Oxford City

On 19 July 2019, following a successful trial, Tapp 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 ...

club Oxford City.

Banbury United

In July 2023, Tapp returned to football when he joined

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

club

, reuniting with manager Mark Jones whom he had played under at Oxford City. He departed the club in November 2023.

Media career

''Love Island''

In January 2020, it was announced that Tapp would join the sixth series of

dating programme ''

'', the first series to feature a winter villa, located in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa. Tapp entered the villa on Day 5. On 23 February 2020, Tapp along with fellow participant Paige Turley were voted the show's winning couple by the UK public and shared a £50,000 prize. Tapp contested the show without permission from Oxford City, which the club's commercial director said though there was no formal breach of contract, but to avoid such situations, the club will introduce formal clauses inhibiting appearances on TV shows for players in future contract forms.

''Celebrity Coach Trip''

In January 2022, Tapp alongside partner Paige Turley featured in the seventh series of E4's ''

Celebrity Coach Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show that began airing on Channel 4 on 7 March 2005. The show's premise sees four to seven pairs of tourists undertaking a coach tour principally of continental Europe between twenty and fifty days, whil ...

''.

Personal life

Tapp was in a relationship with Paige Turley, whom he met during the sixth series of ''Love Island'', from 2020 to 2023.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapp, Finn Living people 1999 births Footballers from Milton Keynes Footballers from Buckinghamshire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Banbury United F.C. players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players English television personalities Love Island (2015 TV series) contestants 21st-century English sportsmen