Jamie Searle (born 25 November 2000) is a New Zealand

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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for club Eastbourne Borough. He was part of the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

squad in the football competition at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and made his senior debut in March 2022. Searle played senior football for his local side Melville United while still a teenager, earning an academy place at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

after a trial, before spells at

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Early life

Searle was born in 2000 in

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...

, and played for Whakatāne Town, Tauranga City and

Cambridge FC Cambridge F.C. is a football club based in Cambridge, New Zealand. It currently plays in the NRFL Southern Conference. In 2020, Cambridge finished 8th in a season shortened by restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, they came 5 ...

in his early years. He completed his secondary education at St Peter's School in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, south-east of Hamilton.

Club career

Melville United and Aston Villa

Searle began to play for the first team of Melville United during his time at school, making three appearances over three years. Searle's manager at Melville United, Sam Wilkinson, organised a month-long trial with

, and after impressing in friendly matches he signed his first professional contract in August 2019. For the first half-year, either his father or his mother was living with him in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

; during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

he lived on his own.

Swansea City

After his time at Aston Villa, Searle trialled for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and

; in July 2020, he signed a one-year contract with Swansea. On 15 June 2021, he signed a one-year extension, with a club option to extend for another season. He was released by Swansea City at the end of his contract on 30 June 2022.

Barnsley

On 16 June 2022, Searle agreed to join League One club

on a two-year deal upon the expiration of his Swansea City contract.

Forest Green Rovers

On 23 July 2023, Searle was announced at Forest Green Rovers.

Eastbourne Borough

On 20 June 2025, Searle signed for Eastbourne Borough as their new number one.

International career

Searle was a member of the New Zealand Olympic football team at the

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

games but did not play in their run to the quarter-finals. Searle made his debut for the senior New Zealand side in March 2022, playing the full 90 minutes in a World Cup qualifier against

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Searle, Jamie Living people 2000 births New Zealand men's association footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic association footballers for New Zealand Aston Villa F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players New Zealand expatriate men's association footballers New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England New Zealand expatriates in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Sportspeople from Whakatāne English Football League players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen