Martin Ulf Pringle (born 18 November 1970) is a Swedish former 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
centre forward
In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...
, and the current manager of
Varbergs BoIS
Varbergs BoIS FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Varberg, the main town of Varberg Municipality in Halland County.
Background
The club was formed at a meeting in the Varbergs Folkets Hus on 25 March 1925. The backbone of the ...
.
As a player, he played from 1991 until his career was cut short by injury in 2002. Having started his career with
Stenungsund
Stenungsund () is a locality and the seat of Stenungsund Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 9,987 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
Stenungsund was once only an idyllic bathing and vacation location on the Swedish west coast. A landm ...
he soon moved on to
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs Idrottsförening, commonly referred to as Helsingborgs IF, Helsingborg or (especially locally) HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish second tier, Superettan, following releg ...
before a switch to Portugal in 1996 with
Benfica. In 1999, he moved to England with
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 ...
. Having suffered a horrific injury at Athletic that sidelined him for up to a year he returned in 2002 in a loan spell with
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 ...
but was forced to retire in his second game for the club following a leg breaking tackle that ended his professional football career.
Pringle has since subsequently forged a career in coaching, notably in
women's football Women's football most often refers to:
* Women's association football
Women's football may also refer to:
* Women's gridiron football
* Women's Australian rules football
* Ladies' Gaelic football
* Women's rugby league
* Women's rugby union
...
.
Club career
Early career and Benfica
Born in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
of
Jamaican descent, Pringle did not play top flight football until well into his 20s, when he joined
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs Idrottsförening, commonly referred to as Helsingborgs IF, Helsingborg or (especially locally) HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish second tier, Superettan, following releg ...
. After consistent performances, he caught the eye of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
's
S.L. Benfica
(), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...
, which signed him in August 1996.
However, Pringle's chances at the
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
club were very limited, and he amassed just over 40
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
* ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...
appearances in nearly three full seasons. His best individual campaign was
his first, as he started in 11 of his 15 matches and scored three times with Benfica eventually ranking third.
Charlton Athletic
In January 1999, Pringle signed for
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
outfit
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 a two-month loan from Benfica. Under the stewardship of
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley (born 8 November 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for West Ham United, Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Charlton Athletic and Brighton & Hove Albion. He became ma ...
, the club was embroiled in a relegation battle and had added Pringle to bolster the club's attacking ranks which included the likes of
Clive Mendonca
Clive Paul Mendonca (born 9 September 1968) is an English former professional footballer, who played as a forward between 1986 and 2002, notably for Grimsby Town and Charlton Athletic. Mendonca also played for Sheffield United, Doncaster Rovers ...
,
Andy Hunt,
Kevin Lisbie
Kevin Anthony Lisbie (born 17 October 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in London, he earned ten international caps for Jamaica. He is now a coach at Leyton Orient.
Club career Charlton Athletic
Born in Ha ...
and
Bradley Allen. He was handed his debut on 9 January 1999 in the club's 1–3 away defeat against
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
when he
replaced Steve Jones in the 71st minute.
In his second game for Charlton, Pringle scored a dramatic
90th minute equaliser against
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
in a 2–2 draw at
The Valley. In March 1999, following his two-month loan at the club, he signed permanently for a fee of
£800,000 but, ultimately was unable to help the Addicks avoid
relegation
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
, finishing the season with three goals in 18 games.
During the
1999–2000 season, Pringle and Charlton were eventual winners of the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to:
Military
Airborne divisions
*1st Parachute Division (Germany)
*1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
* 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine)
* 1st Guards Airborne Division
Armoured divisions
*1st Armoure ...
and earned an automatic return to the top flight. He remained a favoured forward in the team's strike force, scoring another Premier League goal against
Chelsea in a 2–0 win on 18 November 2000, but spent the entire
following campaign on the sidelines due to injury.
Loan to Grimsby Town
On his return to fitness, Pringle was loaned out to First Division outfit
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 ...
, along with Charlton teammate
Andy Todd, in February 2002. He made his debut for his new team in a 0–0 away draw with
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 ...
on 23 February 2002. In his second game for the Mariners, with the score 3–1 in their favour against
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
, opposition
defender Dave Challinor went in for a challenge on Pringle, which would break one of his legs in two places. He was rushed immediately to the
Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
.
Retirement
Despite his injury, Pringle was subsequently given the opportunity to stay at Charlton and was given a squad number and registered for the club for the
2002–03 season. On 4 November 2002, however, he was forced to retire from professional football.
International career
Pringle was
capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...
twice by
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
during one year, his debut coming in 1995.
Managerial career
Pringle then took up coaching, his first head coach spell being with
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC in the
Swedish Women's League. In 2008, he returned to the men's game, assisting at
Örgryte IS
Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. ...
.
In December 2009, Pringle was named
Västra Frölunda IF
Västra Frölunda Idrottsförening () is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg. Founded on 2 January 1930, the club has spent a total of ten seasons in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. As of the 2025 season, Västra Frölund ...
manager. On 11 July 2011, he and Johan Lange joined
Roland Nilsson's coaching staff at
FC Copenhagen
Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklu ...
. In 2014 he returned to Sweden, first to assist
Ängelholms FF
Ängelholms FF is a football (soccer), football club based in Ängelholm, Sweden. The club is affiliated to Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Ängelholms IP. The club was formed in 1976 as a merger between Ängelholms IF and Sk ...
and then to manage
Eskilsminne IF. In December 2019 he started as director of sports in then-newly promoted
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system.
Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...
club
Varbergs BoIS
Varbergs BoIS FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Varberg, the main town of Varberg Municipality in Halland County.
Background
The club was formed at a meeting in the Varbergs Folkets Hus on 25 March 1925. The backbone of the ...
.
Career statistics
: ''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pringle goal''.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, Martin
1970 births
Living people
Swedish people of Jamaican descent
Sportspeople of Jamaican descent
Swedish men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Allsvenskan players
Helsingborgs IF players
Primeira Liga players
S.L. Benfica footballers
Premier League players
English Football League players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Sweden men's international footballers
Swedish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Swedish football managers
F.C. Copenhagen non-playing staff
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Footballers from Gothenburg
Stenungsunds IF players