Michael James Duckworth (born 28 April 1992) is an English 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 Scarborough Athletic. He has played in the

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 ...

for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

and

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

Early life and career

Early career

Duckworth was born in

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river north of the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In ...

, Lower Saxony, Germany and lived there for six months before being raised in Rawcliffe, York, England. He started playing for his local team in Rawcliffe aged five, before joining

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

's youth team aged 10. Duckworth signed a two-year scholarship with York in May 2008 after graduating from the club's Centre of Excellence. However, he was released after failing to earn a professional contract in May 2010. Duckworth moved into

non-League football 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 ...

in October 2010 when signing for

Harrogate Railway Athletic Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Station View. History The club was established in 1935 by employees of the London and Nort ...

of the

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 ...

Division One North. He signed for

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

in August 2011 and made 24 appearances, scoring 6 goals, in the 2011–12 season as they won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

Conference 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 Leagues and step 2 o ...

via the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-offs. He made 43 appearances in 2012–13 and won the club's Supporters' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards.

Football League

Duckworth went on trial at League Two club

in July 2013 after being recommended to them by Bradford Park Avenue

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 ...

John Deacey. His trial was a success and he signed a month-to-month contract with Hartlepool on 22 August 2013. He made his professional debut two days later after playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat against

. In September 2013, Duckworth was rewarded for his early season form by signing a new contract for a longer period to extend his stay at Victoria Park. On 30 July 2014, Duckworth signed a new deal with the club on undisclosed terms. His goal in a 3–3 away draw against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

was nominated for the Football League Goal of the Year and was later voted as the tenth best Football League goal of the 2010s. Duckworth signed for League One club Fleetwood Town on 17 June 2016. On 31 January 2017, he joined League Two club

on loan until the end of 2016–17.

Return to non-League

Duckworth signed for newly promoted

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...

on 5 August 2017 on a one-year contract. Duckworth re-signed for York City, with the club now in 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 ...

, on 13 August 2020. In York City's retained list at the end of the 2023–24 season, it was announced that Duckworth would depart the club at the end of his contract. On 16 May 2024, it was announced that Duckworth would sign for National League North club Scarborough Athletic once his contract with York expired.

Style of play

Having joined Bradford Park Avenue as a winger or a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, he was converted by manager John Deacey into playing as an attacking

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Supporters' Player of the Year: 2012–13 *Bradford Park Avenue Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13

References

External links

Profile
at the York City F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Michael 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Rinteln Footballers from Lower Saxony Footballers from York English men's footballers Men's association football defenders York City F.C. players Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen