Ashley Williams

Early career

Born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Williams began his career at West Bromwich Albion as a youth player but was released by the club at age 16. He went on to play for non-league Hednesford Town.

Stockport County

In late 2003 he left to join Division Two side Stockport County Williams later became captain of Stockport and was still at the club when he made his international debut for Wales. In November 2007, Williams won both the inaugural North-West League Two Player of the Year Award and the North-West Player of the Year Award.

Swansea City

In March 2008, Williams signed for Swansea City on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season, with a view to a permanent transfer. After helping Swansea win the League One title and, with it, promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in 24 years, the move was made permanent for a reported £400,000, a club record transfer fee at the time. On 16 September 2008, Williams scored his first Swansea goal in a 1–1 draw against Derby County. The defender impressed during his first season at Championship level, eventually going on to be named Wales Footballer of the Year at an FAW awards dinner in November 2009. Williams also picked up the Clubman of the Year award at the same event.

After finishing in eighth position during their first Championship campaign, Swansea improved on their position by one place the following season, missing out on a play-off position by a single…

Williams qualifies for the Wales national team through his maternal grandfather Bill Rowlands from Gelli, Rhondda. He made his international debut on 26 March 2008, two days before securing his move to Swansea City. In the match, he played the full 90 minutes for John Toshack's men in their 2–0 friendly away win in Luxembourg, making an early error through a poor backpass to goalkeeper Lewis Price, but recovered possession in time. On 1 April 2009, Williams scored an own goal in a 2–0 loss to Germany in qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, deflecting Mario Gómez's cross at the Millennium Stadium. He captained the country for the first time on 14 November in a 3–0 friendly win over Scotland at the Cardiff City Stadium. On 11 October 2010, he scored his first international goal in a 5–1 friendly win over Luxembourg in Parc y Scarlets, finishing a header from debutant Steve Morison. In October 2012, Williams was named captain of Wales by manager Chris Coleman, replacing Aaron Ramsey. Coleman, who by that point had not won in his four matches, awarded the armband to Williams on account of his experience over the younger Ramsey. The decision was criticised by Raymond Verheijen, the assistant to Coleman's predecessor, Gary Speed. On 31 May 2016, Williams was named in Coleman's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, Wales' first major tournament for more than half a century. On 1 July in Lille, Williams headed the equalising goal, against Belgium in the quarter-finals as Wales…

Club

International

Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Williams goal.

Williams is of Jamaican descent through his father and of Welsh descent through his mother. In his time at Hednesford Town, Williams supported himself with various jobs including at a petrol station, as a waiter at Beefeater, and running a sideshow at Drayton Manor. In December 2010, Williams established the charity WillsWorld with his wife Vanessa, with a view to helping under-privileged children. He is also a patron of Street Football Wales which fights social exclusion, and the Ethan Perkins Trust, which raises funds for research, support and awareness into childhood brain tumours. In the 2012/2013 season, Williams was accused of attempted murder by Alex Ferguson after an incident where he kicked a football at Robin Van Persie; ultimately Williams was not charged by the CPS and was allowed to continue with his football career. Williams was a Liverpool fan as a child and his favourite player was John Barnes. He also likes basketball and supports the Miami Heat.