James Oates (born 19 March 1991) is an Australian semi-professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a defender for club Lambton Jaffas.

Career

Early career

Oates began his career with

Manly United Manly United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why, approximately 15 minute ...

, before signing for the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

youth team in 2010. He joined up with the side for the 2010–11 pre-season, making his debut against Riverina U23s – coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal. Oates impressed during his first season, and was handed a trial with

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, but returned to Central Coast Mariners for the start of the 2011–12. In his second season with the Mariners, Oates captained the side to glory in the National Youth League, earning himself a one-year professional contract with the senior

side for their 2012–13 campaign. An ankle injury sustained during pre-season meant he was unable to break into the first team and, following further setbacks, Oates was released from his contract early. After his release from Central Coast Mariners, Oates returned to Manly United. A teammate of his persuaded him to apply to

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education The university and college is set in a 360-hectare estate located in Hartpury, near Gloucester, in Gloucestershire, England. The ...

, England, to study, play football, and see a world outside of Australia.

Hereford

In 2015, Oates signed for the newly-formed

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 ...

, a phoenix club setup by fans following the demise of

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

. Following a successful first season, in which the Australian played 41 times for the club as they won the

Midland Football League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an England, English association football, football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the form ...

Premier Division title and reached the final of the

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

, Oates signed on with Hereford for the 2016–17 season. Oates was named captain for the 2017–18 season. He signed a new deal with Hereford ahead of the 2018–19 season. During his 3 seasons with Hereford, Oates made 136 appearances in all competitions.

Exeter City

On 24 July 2018, following a trial period, Oates was formally announced as an

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 ...

player. Oates had previously worked alongside his new manager, Matt Taylor, while studying at Hartpury College. He made his debut for the club in a 0–2 defeat away to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in the

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 ...

. On 24 January 2019, Oates rejoined Hereford on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. On 12 March 2019, Oates was re-called from Hereford with immediate effect, due to a number of injuries in Exeter City's squad. He was released by Exeter at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Return to Manly

Oates returned to Manly United in the

2020 National Premier Leagues The 2020 National Premier Leagues was the eighth season of the Australian National Premier Leagues association football, football competition. The league competition was played by eight separate state and territory member federations, namely the ...

season.

Lambton Jaffas

In August 2023, Oates signed for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

-based

NPL NNSW NPL may refer to: Sport * National Pickleball League of Champions Pros, an American professional pickleball league for senior players * National Pickleball League Australia, an Australian professional pickleball league * National Pool League, a ...

club Lambton Jaffas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oates, Jimmy 1991 births Living people Soccer players from Sydney Australian men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Manly United FC players Central Coast Mariners Academy players Central Coast Mariners FC players Hereford F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Lambton Jaffas FC players 21st-century Australian sportsmen