Keith Pontin (14 June 1956 – 2 August 2020) was a Welsh 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 played as a

central defender 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 ...

. Pontin began his career with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, making nearly 200 league appearances and earning two caps for the Welsh national team. He later played for

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and Barry Town. With the latter, he won several

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

titles and was appointed club captain, winning several player awards during his spell there.

Club career

Born in

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a town and Community (Wales), community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Pontyclun translates from the Welsh language as 'bridge

ver Ver or VER may refer to: * Voluntary Export Restraints, in international trade * VER, the IATA airport code for Veracruz International Airport * Volk's Electric Railway, Brighton, England * VerPublishing, of the German group VDM Publishing, re ...

the Afon Clun, River Clun', the Clun being a tributa ...

, Pontin began his career at

, working his way through the youth system before making his debut in a 2–0 victory over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on the opening day of the 1976–77 season. He returned to the reserves shortly afterwards due to the arrival of

Paul Went Paul Frank Went (12 October 1949 – 4 January 2017) was an English footballer who played professionally for five clubs over a fifteen-year period. He was one of that generation who bridged the gap between terminological eras, beginning his care ...

from

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 ...

but was eventually recalled in September 1977 when Went was moved into a more attacking role. His impressive form over the next few seasons meant he missed very few matches for the Bluebirds and was called up for the Wales squad. During the 1981–82 season he played in more matches than any other player in the squad but couldn't stop the club from being relegated. It was at the start of the following year that things turned sour for him at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

when he fell out with manager

Len Ashurst Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired at ...

after an argument and was allowed to leave the club to join

. He signed for Barry Town in 1985. Club historian Jeff McInery described the signing as "quite a coup for Barry at the time" given Pontin's playing history. He made his debut for the club against

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...

in the

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 ...

. Pontin's performances for Barry led him to be voted the club's Player's Player of the Season three times, in 1988, 1989 and 1991, and the Club's Player of the Season in 1987. During this time, he also helped the club to win Division One of the

in three consecutive seasons between 1986 and 1989. In his later years with Barry, he was appointed club captain and also briefly acted as assistant manager under Mel Donovan before leaving in 1991 having made more than 200 appearances in all competitions.

International career

Pontin earned one cap for Wales at under-21 level, and two for the senior team. He made his senior international debut in a 4–1 win over

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 ...

on 17 May 1980. His second, and final, cap came four days later on 21 May in a 1–0 defeat to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Later life

Pontin was married with two daughters. At the age of 59, Pontin was diagnosed with dementia, which his family attribute to his football career. He died on 2 August 2020 at the age of 64. In 2022, a coroner's court in

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

heard that a post-mortem examination found Pontin's cause of death was

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

caused by repeated trauma to the head.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontin, Keith 1956 births 2020 deaths Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders Association football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy