Fraser Kerr (born 17 January 1993) is a Scottish

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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Kerr has represented his country at levels from under-16 to under-21. Kerr began his professional career at

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

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in 2011, having progressed through the club's youth ranks. He never made an appearance for the club, and spent the 2012–13 season on loan to

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

side

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, where he made 19 appearances. He was released by Birmingham City in July 2013, having returned from his loan spell. Kerr then moved to Motherwell on a permanent basis, making 40 league appearances in two seasons. He spent a season with

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

before moving to

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...

in June 2016. The following year, he returned to England, where he played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for

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, ...

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 ...

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, Chesterfield and

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

. In July 2023 Kerr signed for club

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

Club career

Birmingham City

Kerr was born in

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

, and attended Calderglen High School, in

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

. He began his football career as a schoolboy with

. Spotted playing for the Scotland under-16 team in the televised

Victory Shield The Victory Shield is an annual football (soccer), football tournament competed for by the under-16 teams of Scotland national under-16 football team, Scotland, Republic of Ireland national under-16 football team, Republic of Ireland, Northern Irel ...

, he moved to England at the age of 16 to begin a two-year scholarship in

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

. Much to his surprise, Kerr was included as defensive cover in the first-team squad for a 2010 pre-season tour to Hong Kong and China. He played in only one of the games, as a 76th-minute substitute for

Stephen Carr Stephen Carr (born 29 August 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a right-back, sometimes deputising at left-back or centre back. He started his career with Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur in 1993 and remained wi ...

in the 2–0 win against

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

team

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

. He signed his first professional contract, of two-and-a-half years, in January 2011. Academy manager

Terry Westley Terence Westley (born 18 September 1959) is an association football coach and manager (association football), manager. Until 2011 he was the Academy Director at Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy, Birmingham City and in July 2014 he was ...

described the "tall and gangly" Kerr as having "good awareness on the ball", but said that it was "his change of pace that really convinced us to bring him here", comparing him with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international

Matthew Upson Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England national football team, England at full international level, including at the 2010 ...

at a similar age. His first competitive involvement with the first team came in January 2011, when named on the substitutes' bench for the fourth-round

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 ...

tie against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

. He was part of the Birmingham squad for their 2011 pre-season visit to Ireland, and played the second half of the friendly against

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

. Named in the "B" list for Birmingham's 2011–12 Europa League campaign, he was an unused substitute for the play-off round second leg against CD Nacional. In August 2012, Kerr rejoined

on a six-month loan after a successful trial. He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–1 win over

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

in the

on 18 August. The loan was later extended to last for the season. In April, Birmingham confirmed that his contract would not be renewed when it expired at the end of the season.

Motherwell

On 1 July 2013, after his Birmingham contract expired, Kerr signed a two-year permanent deal with Motherwell. On 31 May 2015, Kerr was involved in an incident in Fir Park following Motherwell's 3–0, 6–1 on aggregate, victory against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

that secured their place in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

. After a clash between players

Bilel Mohsni Bilel Mohsni (born 21 July 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He notably played for Rangers where he was part of the Ibrox team who earned promotion in 2014 following their demotion to the foot of the Scotti ...

(Rangers) and Lee Erwin (Motherwell), Kerr got involved to defend teammate Erwin. Both teams' managers described the event as both "unacceptable" and "disgraceful". Kerr was released by Motherwell at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Cowdenbeath and Stenhousemuir

Kerr signed for

in November 2015, where he spent one season before signing for

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

side

in June 2016. At the end of the 2016–17 season Kerr was released following the club's relegation to

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

Non-League football

Kerr returned to English football in July 2017, signing a one-year contract 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 ...

club

. On 27 February 2019, Kerr signed for

for an undisclosed fee. He was released at the end of the 2019–20 season. Kerr joined

on a free transfer in July 2020. He made seven National League appearances, all in December, before moving closer to his family home by joining Chesterfield on 2 March 2021 until the end of the season; Chesterfield's Scott Boden had moved on loan in the other direction. He made his debut that evening at right-sided centre-back, played the whole of a 1–0 win at home to

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

and, according to the ''

Derbyshire Times The ''Derbyshire Times'' is a weekly local newspaper published in northern Derbyshire, each edition being on sale from Thursday. Its headquarters are in Chesterfield and much of its coverage centres on the town and the surrounding area. The news ...

'', "A couple of crunching tackles in the first half would have drawn applause had fans been at the

Technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s * Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by ...

. He was strong in the air and played the ball out from the back." Kerr was released at the end of the 2021–22 season, and signed for

, newly promoted to the National League. He was released by York after one season, and joined

in July 2023. Kerr left the club at the end of the 2023/24 season to move abroad.

International career

Kerr made his debut for the Scotland under-16 team in August 2008 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against a

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

team, and played twice in that year's

. The following year he made six appearances for Scotland's under-17s, including two in the

qualifying round Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

of the 2010 European under-17 championships, and scored his first international goal, against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in the Nordic Tournament. As a 17-year-old, Kerr played two friendlies for Scotland at under-19 level in 2010, and appeared in five more matches in 2011, which included three European under-19 championships qualifiers. Kerr made his under-21 debut in the Marbella Cup in October 2012.

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at Birmingham City F.C. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Fraser 1993 births Living people Footballers from East Kilbride Footballers from Rutherglen People educated at Calderglen High School Scottish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Scotland men's youth international footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players York City F.C. players AFC Telford United players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players People educated at Claremont High School (East Kilbride) 21st-century Scottish sportsmen