Anton Ferdinand facts for kids
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Ferdinand playing for Sunderland in 2011
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anton Julian Ferdinand | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 February 1985 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Peckham, England | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 1994–2003 | West Ham United | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | West Ham United | 138 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Sunderland | 85 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Queens Park Rangers | 44 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2013 | → Bursaspor (loan) | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Antalyaspor | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2014 | Police United | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Reading | 21 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Southend United | 65 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | St Mirren | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Total | 381 | (7) | |||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 2003 | England U18 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2005 | England U20 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | England U21 | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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Anton Julian Ferdinand (born 18 February 1985) is an English former footballer. He played as a centre back for many clubs, including West Ham United, Sunderland, and Queens Park Rangers. He also played for England's under-21 team. Anton Ferdinand stopped playing professional football in July 2019.
Contents
About Anton Ferdinand
Anton Ferdinand was born in Peckham, London. His mother is from Ireland and his father is from Saint Lucia. Anton comes from a famous football family. His older brother, Rio, played for West Ham United and Manchester United. Rio was also a captain for the England national football team. Anton's cousin, Les, also played for England.
Anton was very good at football from a young age. Like his brother Rio, he liked playing in defence. Because of his skills, he joined West Ham United's special football academy.
Anton's Club Career
Playing for West Ham United
Anton joined West Ham United when he was nine years old. He signed his first professional contract in 2002. He played his first game for the senior team in August 2003. This was during the opening match of the 2003–04 season. He played in 26 games that season.
In the 2004–05 season, Anton became a regular player. He scored his first goal for West Ham in the last game of the season. West Ham won that game and went on to the play-offs. In the final, West Ham won 1–0. This meant they were promoted back to the Premier League after two years away. In July 2005, Anton signed a new three-year contract with the club.
Anton won the Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2006. This made him and his brother Rio the first brothers to both win this award. In the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, Anton missed a penalty kick in the shootout. This meant West Ham lost the game. His last goal for West Ham was in January 2008 against Fulham.
Moving to Sunderland
On 27 August 2008, Anton Ferdinand joined Sunderland. He signed a four-year contract. Sunderland's manager, Roy Keane, thought Anton could become an England international player. Anton started well at Sunderland. He played alongside Danny Collins in defence.
Later, Anton didn't play as much under the new manager, Steve Bruce. He wasn't given a squad number for the 2010–11 Premier League season at first. However, he was later given the number 29 shirt.
Time at Queens Park Rangers
On 31 August 2011, Anton moved to Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He made his first appearance for QPR on 12 September. He played the whole game in a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United.
During a match on 23 October 2011, a disagreement happened between Anton and another player. The Football Association later investigated this incident. In September 2012, the other player was found to have used insulting words. He was banned for four games and fined a large amount of money.
On 9 August 2013, Anton left Queens Park Rangers. The club was trying to reduce its costs after being relegated to the Championship.
Loan to Bursaspor
In January 2013, Anton joined the Turkish club Bursaspor on loan. He played seven games for them. He helped Bursaspor finish fourth in the 2012–13 Super League. This meant they qualified for the Europa League.
Playing for Antalyaspor
On 14 August 2013, Anton signed a three-year contract with another Turkish team, Antalyaspor. He left the club at the end of the 2013–14 season.
Brief Spell at Police United
In the summer of 2014, there were talks about Anton joining Police United in Thailand. He even went to Bangkok to sign for them in June 2014. He said his former QPR teammate, Jay Bothroyd, encouraged him to move to Thailand. However, the move didn't happen. Instead, Anton began talking with Championship team Reading.
Joining Reading
On 11 August 2014, Anton Ferdinand signed a two-year deal with Reading. He joined them for free. Anton didn't play his first game for Reading until 4 November 2014. He had been injured with a hamstring problem. He played the first half in a 3–0 win against Rotherham United. Reading announced on 9 May 2016 that Anton would leave the club when his contract ended in June 2016.
Time at Southend United
On 27 August 2016, Anton signed a one-year deal with Southend United. On 9 August 2017, he signed a new two-year contract to stay at Southend. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the club decided he could leave. On 31 August 2018, he left Southend United by agreement.
Playing for St Mirren
On 14 September 2018, Anton joined Scottish Premiership team St Mirren. In January 2019, he signed an extension to his contract. This kept him at the club until the end of the season. In May 2019, Anton confirmed he was leaving St Mirren. It was later confirmed that he retired from professional football in July 2019.
International Football
Anton Ferdinand played regularly for England's under-21 team. He made his first appearance for them on 17 August 2004. England won that game 3–1 against Ukraine.
Anton was chosen to be part of the England squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the Netherlands. He wore the number 5 shirt. He was recovering from an injury during the tournament. He only played once, coming on as a substitute in the semi-final against the host team. The game ended 1–1. In the penalty shootout, Anton missed his kick, and England lost. This was his last game for the U21 team.
Anton could also have played for the Republic of Ireland (through his mother) or Saint Lucia (through his father).
Life Outside Football
Since he stopped playing football, Anton Ferdinand has appeared as a football expert on talkSPORT radio. In 2025, Anton is expected to be a contestant on the TV show Dancing on Ice.
Personal Life
Anton Ferdinand is a Christian. As mentioned, he is the brother of former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand. He is also the cousin of Les Ferdinand and Kane Ferdinand, who plays for Maidenhead United.
Charity Work
Anton Ferdinand is an Athlete Ambassador for the charity Right To Play. This charity uses the power of play to educate and empower children facing hardship.
Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Ham United | 2003–04 | First Division | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Championship | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 33 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 138 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 163 | 5 | ||
| Sunderland | 2008–09 | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 85 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 0 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 2011–12 | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | ||
| Bursaspor (loan) | 2012–13 | Süper Lig | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||
| Antalyaspor | 2013–14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Reading | 2014–15 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| Southend United | 2016–17 | League One | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |||
| Total | 65 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 71 | 2 | |||
| St Mirren | 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Career total | 381 | 7 | 30 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 437 | 7 | ||
Honours
Individual
- Premier League Player of the Month: January 2006
West Ham United
- Football League Championship play-offs: 2005
See also
In Spanish: Anton Ferdinand para niños
