Anton Ferdinand

West Ham United

Ferdinand joined West Ham aged nine later signing a three-year professional contract in the summer of 2002. He was handed his first team debut, by manager Glenn Roeder, in August 2003 when he started the 2–1 victory at Preston North End on the 2003–04 season's opening day. He went on to feature in 26 games that season.

In the 2004–05 season, he cemented his first team place with several key performances including scoring the opening goal, and his first for West Ham, on the final day of the season as West Ham beat Watford 2–1 at Vicarage Road to make the play-offs. In the Final Ferdinand was a member of the team which beat Preston 1–0, earning them promotion back into the Premier League after an absence of two years. At the end of July 2005, Ferdinand signed a three-year contract extension with the club. Ferdinand won the Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2006, following his brother Rio to become the first brothers to win the award. In the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool in Cardiff, Ferdinand fell to his knees after missing the decisive penalty in the shoot out. During the 2005–06 season, Ferdinand was linked with reigning Spanish champions FC Barcelona. In March 2007 it was revealed that Ferdinand had been fined two weeks' wages (estimated at £45,000) for lying about his whereabouts. Ferdinand told the club he needed to go to the Isle of Wight to visit his grandmother when in fact, he went to South Carolina to celebrate his 22nd…

In January 2003, before he'd made his senior debut for West Ham, Ferdinand was tipped by BBC Sport to be called up for the England squad for UEFA Euro 2008 - a tournament that England ultimately failed to qualify for. Ferdinand was a regular selection for England's under-21 side, having made his début in a 3–1 win over Ukraine at the Riverside Stadium on 17 August 2004. Ferdinand was selected to be part of the England squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands, and given the number 5 shirt. Going into the tournament whilst recovering from an injury, he made only one appearance off the bench in the semi-final against the hosts. The match finished 1–1 after extra time and in the resulting penalty shootout, he missed the decisive kick as England lost by a record 13–12 score. This was his final U21 appearance. Ferdinand is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland national team through his mother and Saint Lucia through his father.

On 26 June 2026, Ferdinand was appointed as a first-team coach at newly promoted National League club Hornchurch.

Ferdinand is a Christian. He is the brother of former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, as well as the cousin of both Les Ferdinand, a former Queens Park Rangers and Kane Ferdinand, a midfielder for Maidenhead United.

Court case

In October 2006, Ferdinand was arrested on assault charges following a fracas outside a nightclub in Ilford. He was charged in November 2006. He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 12 November 2007 charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, arising from this incident. It was alleged that Ferdinand had punched Emile Walker. In his defence, Ferdinand said he had feared he was going to be robbed of his £64,000 watch and was defending himself. On 20 November 2007, Ferdinand was acquitted as the jury accepted he was acting in self-defence.

Charity work

Ferdinand is an Athlete Ambassador for the charity Right To Play.

Racial abuse

On 2 November 2011, John Terry was placed under police investigation following an allegation of racist abuse made at Ferdinand during a match versus Queens Park Rangers. Video footage circulated on the internet led to accusations that Terry called Ferdinand a "fucking black cunt." In response to the video footage, Terry claimed that he was actually asking Ferdinand, "Oi, Anton, do you think I called you a black cunt?" On 25 November 2011, Terry was interviewed under caution by the police. On 21 December 2011, he was charged with using racist language by the Crown…