Robin Shroot

Non-league football

Shroot was born in London. He began his football career as an eight-year-old with Wimbledon, remaining with the club until released at 16. He then joined Staines Town's academy, which operated in association with Kingston College. He scored the only goal in the 2006 Middlesex Premier Cup final, the first time the club had reached the final, and contributed to the side reaching the Southern Youth League championship play-off and (as Kingston College) the final of the English Schools' Football Association U-18 Colleges' Trophy. Shroot never played for Staines' Isthmian League Premier Division team, though he was an occasional unused substitute, and scored in the final as the club won the Southern Combination Cup, a first-team competition. In September 2006, Shroot joined AFC Wimbledon, also of the Isthmian League Premier. The club described him as a "skilful ball-playing winger who likes to take on opponents and deliver telling crosses". He made his league debut, showing "plenty of promise" as he played the first 65 minutes of the 2–1 win at Ashford Town (Middlesex) on 26 September 2006. In the 2006–07 season he made two starts and five substitute appearances in the league without scoring. In November 2007, Shroot joined Harrow Borough, also of the Isthmian League Premier, on loan, initially for a month. He made his debut on 10 November 2007 in a 2–1 defeat at Margate. His spell with Harrow was extended to three months, though disrupted by…

Shroot qualifies to play international football for Northern Ireland because his grandmother is from that country. While still a youngster at Wimbledon, he wrote to then manager Lawrie Sanchez to tell him his international ambitions lay with Northern Ireland. He was capped at under-19 and under-20 level, and featured in the starting XI for Northern Ireland Under-19s in all three of their matches in the 2007 Milk Cup Elite Section. With a 2–2 draw against Turkey and a 3–2 win over Chile Under-19s, Northern Ireland qualified for the final. However, they fell at the final hurdle and were defeated 4–1 by Israel. Shroot's debut for the under-21s came in November 2008 when he played the first half of a 3–1 defeat of their Scottish counterparts, and he went on to win four caps at that level.

Ahead of the 2020 season, he was employed by Hødd outside his playing capacities, as manager of Hødd's women's team. After finishing his contract with Hødd, Shroot joined Rosenborg Kvinner as academy development manager.

Shroot was born to a Jewish father from London's East End. He was educated at Alleyn's School in Dulwich, south London, achieving "good GCSE and A-Level results". He played non-league cricket for the Alleyn Ad hoc XI, many of whose players are former pupils of the school. Before his move to Birmingham, he had coached at a South London junior football club, Balham Blazers, and managed their under-13 side. He intended to maintain his involvement with the club when his Birmingham commitments permitted. In 2012, Shroot told The Jewish Chronicle that he would like to represent the United Kingdom at the Maccabiah Games. In September 2013, Shroot began to write his own column in The Comet.