Luther Ash James-Wildin (born 3 December 1997) is a 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 plays as a

right-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

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

. Born in England, he represents the Antigua and Barbuda national team. James-Wildin joined

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 2014 having previously played for Highfield Rangers in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He signed his first professional contract with Notts County in May 2016, and spent the 2016–17 season on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

non-League 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 ...

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

club Grantham Town. He was released by Notts County at the end of the season and subsequently joined

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club that was based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It withdrew from Southern League Premier Division Central on 18 January 2024 due to financial problems and faces liquidation. In 1889, Nuneaton S ...

of the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

in July 2017, where he spent one season. James-Wildin joined Stevenage for an undisclosed fee in May 2018 and helped the club earn promotion into League One during the 2022–23 season.

Early life

Born in Leicester, England, James-Wildin is of Antiguan heritage. He started playing football competitively at the age of seven with Sunday league youth team Highfield Rangers. Wildin stated he was part of a "very successful young side" at Highfield Rangers that remained together for nearly ten years. At the age of 14, he wanted to play at a higher standard after realising he was performing to a high level when playing for Highfield Rangers. Prior to playing

professional football Professional football may refer to: *Professionalism in association football *Professional gridiron football *National Football League *Canadian Football League *Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-emine ...

, he was in an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

and also performed in a

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ho ...

; playing the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

to a grade-8 level.

Club career

Notts County

James-Wildin was offered trials at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

and

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 ...

, which were ultimately unsuccessful. He was scouted by

whilst playing in an under-16 match in 2014. He was offered a one-week trial, which proved successful, and he signed a two-year scholarship to join the club's academy. Despite having not made a first-team appearance, James-Wildin signed his first professional contract at Notts County in May 2016. A month into the 2016–17 season, on 19 September 2016, James-Wildin joined Grantham Town of the

on an initial one-month loan deal, in order to gain first-team experience. The loan agreement was later extended until the end of the season. James-Wildin made his debut for Grantham in a 4–0 victory over Stratford Town in the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

on 1 November 2016, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute in the match. He established himself as a first-team regular thereafter, scoring his first goal for the club when he gave Grantham the lead in an eventual 2–1 away victory over Coalville Town on 11 April 2017. James-Wildin made 42 appearances in all competitions during the loan spell, scoring twice.

Nuneaton Town

Whilst still on loan at Grantham Town, James-Wildin was told that his one-year contract at Notts County would not be renewed and he subsequently left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season. He signed for

club

on 14 July 2017, joining the club alongside his brother, Courtney Wildin. He made his debut for Nuneaton in the club's 1–0 win over

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

on 8 August 2017. Whilst contracted to Nuneaton, James-Wildin became the first player signed up to

Jamie Vardy Jamie Richard Vardy ( Gill; born 11 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains club Leicester City. He will become a free agent on 1 July 2025. After being released by Sheffield Wednesday at ...

V9 Academy V9 Academy is an English association football, football academy co-founded by Jamie Vardy with the intention of gaining non-League football, non-League players contracts at professional clubs. History The V9 Academy was founded, in 2016, by profes ...

on 14 February 2018, a week-long academy that takes place at the end of the season to help

footballers into the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. He scored his first goal for Nuneaton on 27 February 2018, his second-half strike proving decisive in a 2–1 away win against

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 ...

. James-Wildin made 38 appearances during the season, scoring twice.

Stevenage

James-Wildin signed for League Two club

for an undisclosed fee on 16 May 2018. The move reunited James-Wildin with Stevenage

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Dino Maamria Noureddine "Dino" Maamria (born 18 February 1974) is a Tunisian football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently manager of Burton Albion. Maamria started his playing career with AS Marsa of Tunisia. He left th ...

, who had previously managed him at Nuneaton. He made his Stevenage debut in the club's opening match of the 2018–19 season, a 2–2 draw with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Broadhall Way Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, a ...

. James-Wildin scored his first Stevenage goal in the club's 2–1 away defeat at Newport County on 13 October 2018. He was the club's first choice

throughout the season, making 41 appearances in all competitions as Stevenage finished in tenth position in League Two, one point off of the play-off places. Remaining at Stevenage for the 2019–20 season, James-Wildin scored with a shot from 30 yards (27 m) in Stevenage's 2–2 draw against

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

on 31 August 2019. The goal won the EFL League Two Goal of the Month award. He made 29 appearances during the season, which was curtailed due to 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 ...

in March 2020. He played 43 times during the 2020–21 season, scoring two goals, with Stevenage finishing the season in 14th place in League Two. James-Wildin signed a contract extension with Stevenage on 26 June 2021 and made 49 appearances during the 2021–22 season. James-Wildin played 46 times under manager Steve Evans during the 2022–23 season, as Stevenage earned promotion into

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 ...

after finishing in second place in League Two. His first goal for two years helped clinch promotion in the club's 2–0 home victory against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on 29 April 2023. Out of contract at the end of the 2022–23 season, James-Wildin signed a contract extension with Stevenage on 13 June 2023. Initially undisclosed, Stevenage chairman

Phil Wallace Phillip Owen Wallace BEM (born 22 October 1949) is a British businessman and chairman of EFL League One association football club Stevenage F.C. Business interests Phil Wallace is the CEO of Lamex Food Group, a global food trading company wit ...

stated the length of the new contract was two years. On 11 April 2025, James-Wildin signed a new, improved contract with Stevenage. The following day, he made his 231st league appearance for the club, becoming the club's all-time

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearance record holder.

International career

James-Wildin qualified to play for

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

through his ancestry. He was offered the chance to play for Antigua and Barbuda when the national football association of Antigua and Barbuda (ABFA) asked his brother, Courtney, if he had any brothers who were eligible to represent the country. A month later, James-Wildin was subsequently called up to represent the Antigua and Barbuda under-20 team at the 2016 CFU under-20 Tournament. He scored one goal and provided two assists in his three appearances. In March 2018, he was called up to the Antigua and Barbuda senior team for a pair of friendlies against

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

respectively. He made his debut in a 3–2 home win over Bermuda on 21 March 2018, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute in the match.

Style of play

James-Wildin has predominantly been deployed as a right-back and right wing-back throughout his career. Initially utilised as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

at the start of his career at Grantham Town, he made the transition to right-back at the start of his time at Nuneaton Town. He has been described as a possessing "athleticism, pace, power and technique" and has also been praised for his temperament in matches. Wildin states he considers his defensive strengths to be one-versus-one defending and stopping crosses early; and his attacking strengths to be providing overlapping runs.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Stevenage *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

runner-up:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James-Wildin, Luther 1997 births Living people Footballers from Leicester Antigua and Barbuda men's footballers Antigua and Barbuda men's international footballers English men's footballers English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Sportspeople of Antigua and Barbuda descent Notts County F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Nuneaton Town F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players National League (English football) players Men's association football fullbacks V9 Academy players Antigua and Barbuda men's under-20 international footballers English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen