Dominic Ball
English footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dominic Martin Ball (born 2 August 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays for League Two club Cambridge United. He plays primarily as a defensive midfielder but can also play as a centre-back or at full-back.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dominic Martin Ball[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1995[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Welwyn Garden City, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cambridge United | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| 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) |
| 2022–2024 | Ipswich Town | 26 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Leyton Orient | 31 | (0) |
| 2025– | Cambridge United | 26 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 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 as of 21:47, 17 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Tottenham and loan moves
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]
Rotherham United
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]
Peterborough United loan
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 14 February.[13] The loan ended early on 2 March 2017, after Ball had a disagreement with staff at Peterborough United.[14]
Aberdeen loan
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]
Queens Park Rangers
Ball signed a two-year deal with Queens Park Rangers on 2 July 2019 upon expiry of his Rotherham United contract.[18]
Ipswich Town
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 a large part of the 2022–23 season.[20] On 3 June 2024, Ipswich announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.[21]
Leyton Orient
On 10 September 2024, Ball joined League One club Leyton Orient on a deal until the end of the season.[22]
Cambridge United
On 23 June 2025, Ball returned to League Two side Cambridge United, ten years after his first spell at the club, to sign a two-year deal after rejecting a new contract with Leyton Orient.[23]
International career
Personal life
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.[24] Ball graduated from the Open University in 2021 with a degree in business studies, having studied part-time for six years.[25]
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.[26]
Career statistics
- As of match played 17 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2014–15[27] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015–16[28] | 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[27] | League Two | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Rangers (loan) | 2015–16[28] | Scottish Championship | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| Rotherham United | 2016–17[29] | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[30] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[31] | 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[29] | League One | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Aberdeen (loan) | 2017–18[30] | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Aberdeen (loan) | 2018–19[31] | Scottish Premiership | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 2019–20[32] | Championship | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |
| 2020–21[33] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[34] | Championship | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| Total | 90 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 3 | ||
| Ipswich Town | 2022–23[35] | League One | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 19 | 1 |
| 2023–24[36] | Championship | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 1 | ||
| Leyton Orient | 2024–25[37] | League One | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| Cambridge United | 2025–26[38] | League Two | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| Career total | 262 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 324 | 6 | ||
- Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- One appearance and in the EFL Trophy and two appearances in the EFL League One play-offs
Honours
Rangers
- Scottish Championship: 2015–16[39]
- Scottish Challenge Cup: 2015–16[10]
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 2015–16[40]
Aberdeen
- Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2018–19[41]
Ipswich Town
- EFL League One runner-up: 2022–23[42]
- EFL Championship runner-up: 2023–24[43]
