Shaquille Alphonso McDonald (born 19 July 1995) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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

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 played four League Two games for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on loan in 2015, while also signing for

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 ...

sides

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

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 ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

without making a first-team appearance. He spent most of his career in

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 ...

Playing career

Early career

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, West Midlands, McDonald was with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

from 2011 to 2012. He joined

Chasetown Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village ...

's scholarship scheme in July 2012, before joining

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

five months later after impressing on

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

Peterborough United

McDonald signed a four-year professional contract with

on 5 April 2013. On 13 September 2013, McDonald joined

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

club

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

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 ...

until January 2014. On his debut a day later, he was sent off for violent conduct in a 3–1

away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

defeat to Salisbury City. It would be the only appearance he made for the club. He returned to Peterborough before being loaned out to

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 ...

club Histon on 18 October 2013. He was released by Peterborough on 15 November 2013 by mutual consent.

York City

Having been on trial with League Two club

in December 2013, McDonald joined on 1 January 2014. He was released at the end of the 2013–14 season without playing.

Derby County

McDonald signed for Championship club

on 1 August 2014 on a two-year contract after a successful trial. On 26 March 2015, he joined

on loan, making his debut two days later in a 3–0

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

defeat to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

. On 27 November 2015, McDonald joined

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 a youth loan until 2 January 2016. He made his debut on 15 December 2015 in a 5–0

win over Tamworth 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 ...

, scoring from the rebound after

Nicky Wroe Nicholas "Nicky" Wroe (born 28 September 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, most recently for Curzon Ashton. Club career Barnsley Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Wroe came through the youth system of Barn ...

's shot was blocked. He scored 4 goals from 19 appearances for FC Halifax, and was on the bench as they beat

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 ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in the 2016 FA Trophy Final. He was released by Derby at the end of 2015–16.

Nuneaton Town

McDonald signed for

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 ...

club Nuneaton Town on 11 June 2016 on a one-year contract. He left the club during the January transfer window. He made 12 appearances and scored one goal.

Black Country Rangers

McDonald signed for West Midlands (Regional) League team Black Country Rangers in August 2017. He made 17 appearances and scored 24 goals.

Coventry United

McDonald signed for

Midlands Football League The Midlands Football League is a Scottish Junior Football Association, junior Association football, football league based in the Tayside area of Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to ...

side Coventry United in December 2017 for the second half of the 2017–18 season. That year he scored 16 goals in 14 games for the Midlands club.

Mickleover Sports

In December 2018, McDonald signed for

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 Mickleover Sports. McDonald ended the season as top scorer for the club and saved the club from relegation in the final 15 minutes of the game by scoring one and assisting the other to keep them in the division.

Bromsgrove Sporting

On 11 June 2019 McDonald signed for Southern League Premier Division Central side Bromsgrove Sporting. He made his debut on the opening day of the league season on 10 August, in a 1-1 draw at home to Biggleswade Town. He scored in the following game as Bromsgrove Sporting came from behind to beat Tamworth 3-1 away from home on 13 August. McDonald was prolific for Bromsgrove Sporting throughout the 2019-20 season, scoring a brace at home to

Barwell Barwell is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, with a population of 8,750 residents in 2001, increasing to 9,022 at the 2011 census. The name "Barwell" literally translates as "Stream of the Boar" and is said to originate from ...

in a

fixture on 29 October 2019, however were defeated 7-2, and crashed out of the competition. He also bagged a brace away at

Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...

on the 14 December, which Bromsgrove Sporting won 3-0. He scored a hat-trick on 8 February 2020 in a 6-0 demolition at home to Lowestoft Town. McDonald finished the season with a Southern League Premier Division ratio of a goal in every two matches. In total he made 26 appearances and scoring 13 goals, coupled with six appearances, scoring five goals in the cup competitions. McDonald confirmed via social media on 27 June 2020 that he would be leaving the club following the expiry of his contract.

Tamworth

McDonald was confirmed as joining fellow Southern League Premier Division Central side Tamworth on 1 July 2020. He made his debut on 19 September in a 1–1 away draw at Peterborough Sports on the opening day of the season. McDonald committed to Tamworth for a second season on 31 May 2021. He played the clubs first game of the 2021–22 season on the 14 August away at Royston Town, and was replaced on the 57th minute by

Dexter Walters Dexter Walters (born 4 December 1998) is an English people, English association football, footballer who plays for side Stratford Town F.C., Stratford Town, where he plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. Playing career Romulus Walters began hi ...

following an injury. McDonald returned to first team action on 23 October 2021, in a Southern League Premier Division Central home fixture against

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

. He began the match as a substitute, but with Tamworth tailing 2-0 at half time, he was introduced for the second half in place of

Michael Tait Michael DeWayne Tait (born May 18, 1966) is an American contemporary Christian music artist. Tait met Toby McKeehan in 1984 when he was in high school. Both Tait and McKeehan and Michael met Kevin Max while attending Liberty University in the ...

, and scored in a 3-1 defeat.

Mickleover

On 17 January 2022, McDonald was announced as signing for

Premier Division club

Mickleover Mickleover is a village in the unitary authority of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is west of Derby, northeast of Burton upon Trent, southeast of Ashbourne and northeast of Uttoxeter. History The earliest recorded mention of Mickleov ...

Personal life

In March 2023, McDonald beat and strangled his girlfriend at her home. She escaped by jumping 14 feet from a third-storey window, suffering further injuries. In October that year, he admitted to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at

Birmingham Crown Court The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, in Dalton Street, Birmingham, England. History Until the mid-1980s, all Crown Court cases were heard in the Victoria Law Courts in Corporation Street. H ...

and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Shaquille 1995 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Black British sportsmen Birmingham City F.C. players Chasetown F.C. players Alsager Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Chester F.C. players Histon F.C. players York City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Nuneaton Town F.C. players Coventry United F.C. players Mickleover F.C. players Bromsgrove Sporting F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players British sportspeople convicted of crimes English people convicted of assault Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales 21st-century English sportsmen