Charlie Austin

Non-league

Born in Hungerford, Berkshire, and attending Sir William Romney's school in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, Austin trained with Reading's youth teams as a youngster but was released for being too small when he was 15. He subsequently played for local team Kintbury Rangers and his hometown side Hungerford Town. Austin departed Hungerford in 2008 and was briefly on the books of Thatcham Town but ultimately left without making any appearances for the club. Moving with his family to Bournemouth, he then switched to nearby semi-professional Wessex League Premier Division team Poole Town while also working as a bricklayer. In the season of 2008–09, Austin scored 46 goals in 46 appearances for Poole in all competitions. Austin spent the pre-season of the 2009–10 season on trial with League Two club Bournemouth. Although Bournemouth's manager, Eddie Howe, was keen to sign the striker on a permanent deal, Bournemouth were unable to make a move for the striker due to a transfer embargo imposed on the club by the Football League. Austin continued to play for Poole Town, scoring 18 goals in 11 games at the beginning of the season.

Swindon Town

Austin was offered a trial at Swindon Town in September 2009 after Swindon Town's then chief scout Ken Ryder "stumbled across Charlie playing for Poole Town... and he scored four goals... and then the following week he scored three or four". After being watched for three games by the Swindon Town scouting team, Austin was…

On 21 May 2015, Austin was called up for the first time to the England national football team for a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Slovenia. He and Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy were called up due to several other forwards being involved in the European Under-21 Championship, but Austin did not feature in either match.

As of match played 21 March 2026

Austin and his wife Bianca Austin (née Parker) have a daughter, born in August 2012 to a surrogate. Austin was found guilty of assault in 2013 after he punched a man who had accused him of taking drugs in a Swindon nightclub toilet cubicle. He was fined £1,801 and ordered to pay £1,320 in costs. In 2024, Austin was diagnosed with combined ADHD. As a professional footballer he was unable to take appropriate medication as these were on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list.