Sean Hankin (born 28 February 1981) is an English 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 defender in 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 ...

for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

Life and career

Hankin was born in 1981 in

Camberley Camberley is a town in north-west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. It is in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Tow ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He began his career as an apprentice at

, turning professional in June 1999. He made his league debut on 7 March 2000, coming on as a substitute for the injured

Simon Rodger Simon Lee Rodger (born 3 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder from 1989 until 2004. He played the majority of his career with Crystal Palace, including a number of seasons in the Premi ...

in the goalless draw with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

, and agreed a new contract with Crystal Palace in June 2001. Having made no more first-team appearances, Hankin joined

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 ...

in October 2001, as a replacement for fellow Palace player David Woozley who was returning to

at the end of his loan spell. He made his Torquay debut in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and was sent off on his league debut in the 2–0 defeat away to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

on 23 October. In December, he joined Torquay on a permanent deal for a £20,000 fee. Initially a regular in the Torquay side, Hankin lost his place in the team due to injury, was given only a short-term contract, and left in September 2003. After brief spells with

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

and

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

clubs

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

and

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

, as well as training with

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

, Hankin settled at

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

, helping them win the 2003–04 Southern League title and playing regularly in their first season in the Conference. He was released at the end of that season, and spent short spells with

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

, for which he never played a

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

match, and St Albans City, for which he played five times before being released at the end of November. Hankin then signed for

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, but moved on almost immediately to Farnborough Town. He was a regular in their side for the remainder of the season and the whole of 2006–07, making 50 appearances in all competitions. The club then went into liquidation, reformed two divisions lower, and Hankin left to join rivals Basingstoke Town. During the last of his four seasons with Basingstoke, he spent time with Fleet Town on a dual registration, before playing for clubs including A.F.C. Totton and

Badshot Lea Badshot Lea is a village in Surrey, England, close to Aldershot. Badshot Lea has access in either direction to the A31 and A331 and is connected to railway stations in the nearby towns with regular bus services. The village is part of the Bl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankin, Sean 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Camberley English men's footballers Crystal Palace F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players Margate F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Lewes F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Basingstoke Town F.C. players Fleet Town F.C. players A.F.C. Totton players Badshot Lea F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Surrey 21st-century English sportsmen