Niall Thompson (soccer, born 1974)

Niall Thompson
Personal information
Full name	Niall Joseph Thompson
Date of birth	16 April 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1990–1991	PSV Eindhoven
1991–1992	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team
1990	Edmonton Brick Men
1991	Winnipeg Fury
1992–1994	Crystal Palace
1994–1995	Colchester United
1995	Montreal Impact
1996	Seattle Sounders
1996–1997	Zultse VV
1998	Brentford
1998	Vancouver 86ers
1999–2000	Airdrieonians
2000	Bay Area Seals
2000–2001	Wycombe Wanderers
2001	Montreal Impact
2002–2003	Vancouver Whitecaps
2004–2009	Vancouver Firefighters
International career
1993–2000	Canada
Managerial career
2010–?	Surrey United Firefighters
2023	Vancouver FC (assistant)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Niall Joseph Thompson (born 16 April 1974) is a soccer coach and former player. Born in England, he represented Canada at international level.

Club career

Thompson moved to Canada, aged two, and later played for the Edmonton Brick Men and Winnipeg Fury in the Canadian Soccer League. He then played for the PSV Eindhoven youth team. He started his professional career as a trainee with Crystal Palace but after an unsuccessful spell moved to play for Colchester United, before returning to Canada for family reasons.^[2] Thompson played for Montreal Impact, Seattle Sounders and Zultse VV, before returning to Canada again to play local football, while waiting for a visa which would allow him to play in the United States.^[2] Seattle Sounders expressed interest in re-signing him, but could not due to visa issues.^[2] A friend contacted Micky Adams, then-manager of English Second Division side Brentford and Thompson signed for the club on non-contract terms in February 1998.^[2] After leaving the Bees in September 1998, Thompson went on to play for Vancouver 86ers, Airdrieonians, Bay Area Seals, Wycombe Wanderers, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.^[3]^[4]

International career

Thompson represented Canada at the 1991 Pan American Games.^[5] He made his senior debut for Canada in a March 1993 friendly match against South Korea and earned a total of nine caps, scoring two goals. He represented Canada in just one FIFA World Cup qualification match, in October 2000.^[6] That game, against Panama, proved to be his final international.

Coaching career

Thompson served as a coach with amateur club Surrey United SC, before joining Canadian Premier League club Vancouver FC as an assistant ahead of the 2023 season.^[7] He left Vancouver after a single season.^[8]

Personal life

He is the father of Lennon Thompson, who is also a soccer player.

Statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 June 1995	Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Turkey	1–2	1–3	Friendly
2	18 May 1998	Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Macedonia	1–0	1–0	Friendly

References

^ "Niall Thompson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Bournemouth 07/03/98. Quay Design of Poole. 1998. p. 6.
^ CANADIAN JOINS ON TRIAL – Chairboys on the Net Archived 8 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
^ Niall Thompson Rejoins Vancouver – USL Fans
^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
^ Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
^ "Niall Thompson, Mark Village join Vancouver FC coaching staff". Canadian Premier League. 16 December 2022.
^ Jacques, John (15 February 2024). "Vancouver FC Parts Ways With Assistant Coaches Thompson And Ardalani". Northern Tribune.

External links

Niall Thompson at the Canadian Soccer Association
Niall Thompson at National-Football-Teams.com
Niall Thompson at Soccerbase

[1] "Niall Thompson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 February 2017.

[:0-2] Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Bournemouth 07/03/98. Quay Design of Poole. 1998. p. 6.

[3] CANADIAN JOINS ON TRIAL – Chairboys on the Net Archived 8 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Niall Thompson Rejoins Vancouver – USL Fans

[5] "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

[6] Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA

[7] "Niall Thompson, Mark Village join Vancouver FC coaching staff". Canadian Premier League. 16 December 2022.

[8] Jacques, John (15 February 2024). "Vancouver FC Parts Ways With Assistant Coaches Thompson And Ardalani". Northern Tribune.

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