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Ben Davis (footballer, born 2000)

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Ben Davis
Personal information
Full name Benjamin James Davis[1]
Date of birth (2000-11-24) 24 November 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Phuket, Thailand
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
 Uthai Thani
Number 10
Youth career
2013–2016 Singapore Sports School
2017–2019 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Fulham 0 (0)
2021–2023 Oxford United 0 (0)
2022–2023 → Port (loan) 14 (0)
2023–2024 Chonburi 7 (0)
2024– Uthai Thani 19 (2)
International career‡
2015 Singapore U16 3 (0)
2017 Singapore U19 3 (0)
2020–2022 Thailand U23 13 (2)
2023– Thailand 1 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Thailand
SEA Games
Silver medal – second place Hanoi 2021 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 04:18, 29 September 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 01:05, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

Benjamin James Davis (born 24 November 2000) is a Thai professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Thai League 1 side Uthai Thani and the Thailand national team.[3][4][5]

Club career

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Davis started his professional career training at JSSL Singapore, a youth soccer academy owned by his father based in Singapore that has partnerships with Fulham and Singapore Premier League side Tampines Rovers. He later joined the Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) Junior Centre of Excellence, and went on to represent various national age group teams.[6]

In 2017, Davis earned a two-year academy scholarship with Fulham after impressing in trials.[7] He was the first ever Singaporean player to sign for a Premier League side.[8]

In his first season, Davis made 10 appearances for the club's under-18 South League team, scoring a header against West Ham's Under-18 side and recording a passing accuracy of 90 percent.[6] In 2018, Fulham announced that Davis, alongside other academy players, were offered professional contracts, where they would now earn a weekly wage as well as continue to play for the club's Under-18 and Under-23 side.[9] He signed his first professional Fulham contract in June 2017 and is listed on the club's website as an English national.[4][10] On 13 October 2019, Davis confirmed that he had registered to play as a local player with the English Football Association.[11]

Oxford United

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On 31 August 2021, Davis joined League One side Oxford United on a two-year deal.[12] In August 2022 he was sent on a season-long loan to Thai club Port F.C.[13] His contract with Oxford was not renewed at the end of the 2022–23 season.[14]

Chonburi

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On 19 May 2023, Davis signed with Chonburi.[15] On 11 January 2024, Chonburi has officially announced the release of Davis to join Uthai Thani, a team participating in the Thai League 2nd leg of the 2023/24 season, He played a total of 9 matches for the team in all competitions.[16]

Uthai Thani

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On 11 January 2024, Davis signed with Uthai Thani.[17]

International career

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Davis currently holds passports from the United Kingdom, Thailand, and Singapore but represents Thailand internationally.[18]

During his training stint with JSSL Singapore and FAS Junior Centre of Excellence, Davis represented Singapore in several 2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers in 2015.[19] In 2017, Davis earned a call-up to Singapore's under-19 side to play in several 2018 AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers.[20]

In 2018, Davis received a surprise call-up to the senior Singapore national team for a run of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, but he did not play in any of the matches.[21][22]

In September 2019, Davis was called up to the Thailand under-23 national team for the SEA Games training camp.[23]

In 2020, Davis represented Thailand at the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, appearing in a 1–1 draw against Iraq in the group stage as well as a 1–0 loss to Saudi Arabia in the quarter-final, cap-tying him to Thailand. In 2022, he was called up to the U23 team for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[24]

Senior

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In 2023, Davis received his first call-up to the Thailand national team for the 2023 King's Cup to replace captain, Chanathip Songkrasin who withdrew from the squad due to injury.[25] In November 2024, he was selected in the Thailand squad for the 2024 ASEAN Championship.

Personal life

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Davis was born in Phuket, Thailand, and migrated to Singapore at the age of five with his family.[21] Davis studied at the Singapore Sports School from 2013 to 2015 before moving to London's Harrow High School in 2016.[26] In 2017, he was awarded a two-year scholarship with Fulham's academy.[27]

Davis is the second-youngest of four children. His mother, Sopee Davis, is Thai, while his father, Harvey Davis, is English.[21][28]

National service evasion

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As a Singaporean citizen, Davis was to be conscripted under the city-state's national service scheme upon turning 18. His application for deferment to develop his professional career as a footballer with Fulham was rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) as he did "not meet the criteria for long-term deferment from full-time NS".[29] His father drew parallels to Joseph Schooling,[29] a national swimmer who was granted deferment and went on to win Olympic medals.[30][31]

MINDEF countered that Davis' contract with Fulham was no different from other pre-enlistees' personal pursuits and a further appeal supported by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) was also denied.[32][33] The ministry also said that Davis did not meet the criteria for long-term deferment due to it being a personal pursuit, and that it was unfair to other pre-enlistees who served their NS commitments.[34] It further added that the deferment rejection was also based on grounds that Davis' father "would not commit to a date" on when his son would return to Singapore to serve NS, coupled with subsequent remarks to the media that he would encourage his son to renounce his Singapore citizenship in order to pursue his career.[34]

On 11 January 2019, Davis failed to report for national service and since 18 February 2019 has been deemed as a defaulter.[35][36][37] While the FAS had previously supported Davis' deferment application, they condemned his decision to not return.[38] In October 2019, Davis eventually chose to represent Thailand and declared he would not return to Singapore despite being a citizen, and had no intentions to fulfill his national service obligations.[11][39]

International statistics

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Singapore under-16 international caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 28 July 2015 Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia  Myanmar 1–3 (lost) 2015 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
2 1 August 2015 Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia  Australia 2–8 (lost) 2015 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
3 3 August 2015 Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia  Cambodia 0–0 (draw) 2015 AFF U-16 Youth Championship

Singapore under-19 international caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 4 November 2017 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia  Thailand 0–2 (lost) 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
2 6 November 2017 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia  Japan 0–7 (lost) 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
3 8 November 2017 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia  Mongolia 2–4 (lost) 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification

Thailand under-23 international caps

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No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 14 January 2020 Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand  Iraq 1–1 (draw) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship
2 18 January 2020 Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand  Saudi Arabia 0–1 (lost) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship
3. 25 October 2021 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia  Mongolia 1–1 (draw) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification
4. 31 October 2021 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia  Malaysia 0–0 (draw) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification
5. 7 May 2022 Nam Dinh, Vietnam  Malaysia 1–2 (lost) 2021 Southeast Asian Games
6. 9 May 2022 Nam Dinh, Vietnam  Singapore 5–0 (win) 2021 Southeast Asian Games

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
2. 2 June 2022 Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Vietnam 1–1 2–2 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Honours

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Thailand U-23

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Fulham" (PDF). English Football League. p. 29. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Ben Davis". Oxford United Football Club. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Singapore teen Ben Davis chasing EPL dream hopeful of NS deferment". FourFourTwo. 8 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Ben Davis". www.fulhamfc.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  5. ^ Ungku, Fathin (16 July 2018). "First Singaporean Premier League player may appeal military service". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Singapore teen Ben Davis signs pro contract with Fulham". The New Paper. 13 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  7. ^ Dasey, Jason (1 November 2017). "Fulham teenager Ben Davis cleared to play for Singapore U18 team". ESPN. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Petition urges Singapore to defer military service for first Premier League player". South China Morning Post. 21 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  9. ^ Osman, Shamir (13 July 2018). "Football: Singaporean Ben Davis, 17, signs professional contract with EPL club Fulham". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Ben settling in well at Fulham's academy". The Straits Times. 8 August 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  11. ^ a b "'I don't have any regrets': Footballer Ben Davis has no plans to return to Singapore". CNA. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Ben Davis Joins Oxford United". www.oufc.co.uk. 31 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Ben Davis Goes On Loan to Port FC". Oxford United F.C. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  14. ^ "U's Announce Summer Departures". Oxford United F.C. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  15. ^ "ฉลาม ซิว เบนจามิน เดวิส เปิดตัวทันทีกลางงาน ฉลามชล อวอร์ด". www.facebook.com. 19 May 2023.
  16. ^ ""ฉลามชล" ปล่อยตัว #เบนจามินเจมส์เดวิส ร่วมทัพ อุทัยธานี เอฟซี". www.facebook.com. 11 January 2024.
  17. ^ "ปิดดีล! อุทัยธานี เอฟซี เสริมแกร่งแดนกลางคว้า "เบนจามิน เจมส์ เดวิส" ร่วมทัพ". www.facebook.com. 11 January 2024.
  18. ^ Ungku, Fathin. "First Singaporean Premier League player may appeal military service". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  19. ^ De Silva, Nicholas (8 August 2017). "Singapore youth footballer Ben Davis settling well at Fulham FC's academy". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  20. ^ Wang Meng Meng (1 November 2017). "Football: Fulham trainee Ben, 16, impresses Singapore Under-18 coach". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  21. ^ a b c Luis, Ernest (18 July 2018). "Everything you need to know about Fulham's Ben Davis – the first Singaporean footballer signed by an English Premier League club". Business Insider Singapore. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Fulham youngster Ben Davis and Baihakki Khaizan in Singapore squad". FOX Sports Asia. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Fulham's 18-year-old midfielder Ben Davis called up to Thailand U23 side for Southeast Asian Games 2019". FOX Sports Asia. 28 September 2019. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  24. ^ Roberts, James (9 May 2022). "Oxford United's former Fulham midfielder Ben Davis scores for Thailand Under 23s". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  25. ^ "เบนจามิน เจมส์... สลัด ชุดฉลาม เตรียมสวมเกราะช้างศึก ออกล่าความสำเร็จในนามทีมชาติช่วงฟีฟ่าเดย์!⁣". facebook.com (in Thai). 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  26. ^ Meng, Wang Meng (November 2017). "Football: Fulham trainee Ben, 16, impresses Singapore Under-18 coach". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  27. ^ "Singapore youth footballer signs for English club Fulham". CNA. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  28. ^ "Breakdown in communication between Mindef and parents led youngster Ben Davis to play for Thailand: SCMP". The Independent Singapore. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  29. ^ a b "MINDEF rejects Fulham signee Ben Davis' application for NS deferment". CNA. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  30. ^ hermesauto (13 August 2016). "Olympics: Joseph Schooling's coronation complete as he wins Singapore's first gold". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  31. ^ "Asian Games: Schooling wins Singapore's first gold medal after retaining 100m fly crown". CNA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  32. ^ "Ben Davis' Fulham contract no different from other pre-enlistees' personal pursuits: MINDEF". CNA. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Ben Davis has no intention to fulfil NS duties; actions meant to further his professional career: MINDEF". CNA. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  34. ^ a b "Football: Ben Davis has not appealed for deferment from NS again, as February enlistment looms for Fulham player". The Straits Times. 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  35. ^ "Reply to Queries on Ben Davis' Enlistment". www.mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  36. ^ "Footballer Ben Davis now a national service defaulter: Mindef". sg.news.yahoo.com. 18 February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  37. ^ "Football: Fulham player Ben Davis defaults on national service commitments". The Straits Times. 18 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  38. ^ "FAS' response to media query on Benjamin Davis' default on NS obligations - Football Association of Singapore".
  39. ^ "Fulham teen Ben Davis picks Thailand over Singapore after military service dispute". South China Morning Post. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
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