Dominic Martin Ball (born 2 August 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays for Ipswich Town. He plays primarily as a defensive midfielder but can also play as a centre-back or at full-back.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Dominic Martin Ball[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1995-08-02) 2 August 1995 (age 27)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Welwyn Garden City, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Ipswich Town | ||
Number | 12 | ||
Youth career | |||
Watford | |||
2011–2013 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013–2016 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (0) |
2015 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
2015–2016 | → Rangers (loan) | 21 | (0) |
2016–2019 | Rotherham United | 13 | (0) |
2017 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 6 | (1) |
2017–2019 | → Aberdeen (loan) | 47 | (0) |
2019–2022 | Queens Park Rangers | 90 | (3) |
2022– | Ipswich Town | 8 | (0) |
National team | |||
2010 | Northern Ireland U15 | 1 | (0) |
2010–2011 | Northern Ireland U16 | 9 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Northern Ireland U17 | 8 | (2) |
2012 | Northern Ireland U19 | 4 | (4) |
2013 | Northern Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
2014 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
2014–2015 | England U20 | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:29, 30 October 2022 (UTC) |
A Tottenham Hotspur youth graduate, he joined the club's youth setup in 2011 from Watford[3] and appeared in 17 matches during his first campaign, scoring one goal.[4]
Ball appeared with the under-18s and with the under-21s in 2013–14, and was also named on the bench in a 2–2 UEFA Europa League away draw against Benfica on 20 March 2014.[5] He was also an unused substitute in two further matches for Spurs in 2014–15, a 1–0 home win against Partizan and a 2–1 away win against Hull City.
On 22 January 2015, Ball was loaned to League Two side Cambridge United until the end of the season.[6] He made his professional debut five days later, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Dagenham & Redbridge.[7] He was used mainly as a right-back, making two assists in his time at the club.[8][9]
On 14 August 2015, Ball signed a season-long loan deal with Scottish Championship club Rangers, reuniting with his Watford academy manager Mark Warburton.[3] At Rangers, he helped them return to the Scottish Premiership as they won the Championship and also picked up honours when they won the Scottish Challenge Cup.[10]
On 12 August 2016, Ball signed for Championship side Rotherham United on a three-year deal.[11] He was released from his contract at the end of the 2018–19 season, having spent all but five months of his three-year deal out on loan.[12]
On 3 January 2017, Ball joined Peterborough United on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for Peterborough against Shrewsbury on the 14th of February.[13] The loan ended early on 2 March 2017, after Ball had a disagreement with staff at Peterborough United.[14]
On 31 August 2017, Ball moved on loan to Aberdeen until the end of the season.[15][16] He joined again for a second season-long loan spell on 18 July 2018.[17]
Ball signed a two-year deal with Queens Park Rangers on 2 July 2019 upon expiry of his Rotherham United contract.[18]
Ball joined Ipswich Town on 1 June 2022 on a two-year deal after the expiration of his contract with Queens Park Rangers.[19] In November 2022, a ruptured meniscus ruled Ball out for the remainder of the 2022–23 season.[20]
After being capped by Northern Ireland in the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels, Ball switched his allegiance to England in 2013.[4] He has represented England up to U-20 level, making six appearances at that level.
Ball was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Ball has an older brother, Matt, who is also a footballer, while his father Tim was academy business manager at Watford.[21] Ball graduated from the Open University in 2021 with a degree in business studies, having studied part-time for six years.[22]
In April 2022, Ball released a book called From Winning Teams to Broken Dreams about the football academy system in England. All proceeds from the book go the charity Sarcoma UK.[23]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Tottenham Hotspur | 2014–15[24] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2015–16[25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Cambridge United (loan) | 2014–15[24] | League Two | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Rangers (loan) | 2015–16[25] | Scottish Championship | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 30 | 0 |
Rotherham United | 2016–17[26] | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
2017–18[27] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
2018–19[28] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
Peterborough United (loan) | 2016–17[26] | League One | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
Aberdeen (loan) | 2017–18[27] | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
Aberdeen (loan) | 2018–19[28] | Scottish Premiership | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 40 | 0 |
Queens Park Rangers | 2019–20[29] | Championship | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |
2020–21[30] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | ||
2021–22[31] | Championship | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
Total | 90 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 3 | ||
Ipswich Town | 2022–23[32] | League One | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 11 | 1 |
Career Total | 187 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 231 | 5 |
Rangers
Aberdeen
Ipswich Town F.C. – current squad | |
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