Jack Sparkes (born 29 September 2000) is an English footballer who plays as a

left-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 ...

left wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

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 ...

Career

Exeter City and loans

Sparkes began his career with

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 ...

and made his professional debut for the Grecians on 12 August 2017 in a 1–1 away draw at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. He then made his first appearance at Exeter's home ground

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, ground of Newcastle United F.C. * St James Park (Exeter), England, ground of Exeter City F.C. * St James Park, ground of Brackley Town F.C., ...

the following week in a 1–0 win over Lincoln City. He scored his first goal for Exeter in an

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 ...

tie against

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

on 29 August 2017. In October 2018, Sparkes 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

Chippenham Town Chippenham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of and play their games at Hardenhuish Park. History The club states it was established in 1873,

on a one-month loan deal. On 21 December, he was loaned out again, this time to

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

for one month. The deal was later extended until the end of the season. Sparkes broke into the Exeter City first team in the first half of the 2019–20 season, making 17 first-team appearances in League Two before being ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury sustained against Newport County. Following his recovery from a shoulder injury suffered early on in the 2021–22 season, Sparkes joined

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

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 ...

on loan on 9 December 2021, with the deal lasting until 8 January 2022.

Portsmouth

Sparkes signed a two-year contract with League One side

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in June 2023.

Peterborough United

On 26 July 2024, Sparkes joined

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. On 20 January 2025, he joined League Two side Chesterfield on loan for the remainder of the season. On 6 May 2025, Peterborough announced the player had been transfer listed.

Bristol Rovers

On 23 June 2025, Sparkes joined League Two side

on a free transfer with performance-related contingency fees, signing a two-year deal with ''the Gas''.

Career statistics

Honours

Exeter City * League Two runner-up: 2021–22 Portsmouth *

EFL 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 ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

Jack Sparkes
at the Exeter City official website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparkes, Jack 2000 births Living people People from Exmouth Footballers from Devon English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Exeter City F.C. players Chippenham Town F.C. players Salisbury F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen