Niall Mason

Niall Mason
Personal information
Full name Niall Aadya Mason[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Brighton, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender[3]
Team information
Current team
 Al Shahaniya
Number 4
Youth career
2004–2007 Real Madrid
2010 Al Sadd
2010–2012 Blackburn Rovers
2012–2015 Southampton
2015–2016 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Aston Villa 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 38 (0)
2017–2019 Doncaster Rovers 60 (3)
2019–2021 Peterborough United 57 (1)
2021–2022 Lusail
2022– Al Shahaniya 36 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:59, 30 March 2023 (UTC)

Niall Aadya Mason (born 10 January 1997)[3] is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Al Shahaniya.

He was born in Brighton, and played youth football for Real Madrid, Al Sadd, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton before he signed his first professional deal at Villa.[4] He went on to play for Doncaster Rovers and Peterborough United.

Early life

Niall Mason was born in Brighton in 1997 to an American father and an Indian mother. The family spent time living in Spain and Qatar.[4] Mason is eligible to play for India, the United States or England. He has said that he would like to play for England if the opportunity arose.[4]

As a 7-year-old, Mason was signed by the Real Madrid academy. When David Beckham visited the academy the two would often converse, as they were the only English players at the club. He also played alongside Zinedine Zidane's sons, Enzo and Luca.[citation needed] He went on to play for the Al Sadd academy in Qatar when his parents moved there for work and then signed for Blackburn Rovers at the age of 13.[5]

In his early days Mason played in advanced positions, but he has gradually moved further down the pitch and now plays mostly as a defender or defensive midfielder.[6]

Career

Aston Villa

Mason signed his first contract with Aston Villa in 2015, after turning down a professional contract in order to join Aston Villa. Following a successful trial, he became a regular for Villa's under 21s.[7]

He joined the first team for a summer 2015 training camp in Faro, Portugal under manager Tim Sherwood.[4]

Doncaster Rovers

On 6 August 2016, Mason joined Doncaster Rovers on loan until January alongside Chelsea's Jordan Houghton.[6] Both players made their debut on the same day, in a 3–2 loss to Accrington Stanley.[8] On 1 January 2017, Mason had his loan extended until the end of the season.[9]

On 8 May 2017 Doncaster Rovers signed Mason permanently from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.[10] He scored his first goal on 23 December that year, a penalty that was the only goal of a victory away to Bristol Rovers.[11] Three days later, he scored in the same way in a 3–0 win over Northampton Town at the Keepmoat Stadium.[12]

Mason was a regular under Darren Ferguson and then Grant McCann, but was suspended in January 2019 following his conviction.[13] In March 2019, Mason was sacked from Doncaster Rovers as a result of his conviction for sexual assault.[14]

Peterborough United

In June 2019 he signed for Peterborough United.[15] He scored his first goal for the club in an EFL Trophy tie against Burton Albion on 8 September 2020.[16]

On 11 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Peterborough at the end of his contract. He scored his first and only league goal for The Posh in his final appearance for the club against his former side Doncaster a few days beforehand.[17]

In August 2021, Mason had a brief trial at Dundee. His presence led to fan protests over his conviction.[18]

Al Shahiniya

In December 2021, Mason returned to Qatar and after a spell playing for Lusail, he joined Qatari side Al Shahaniya. In the summer of 2023 he signed a new extension on his deal for a reported $1 million dollar a year salary.[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 April 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2016–17[20] League Two 38 0 0 0 1 0 3[a] 0 42 0
Doncaster Rovers 2017–18[21] League One 40 3 3 0 3 0 4[a] 0 50 3
2018–19[22] League One 20 0 4 0 2 0 2[a] 0 28 0
Total 60 3 7 0 5 0 6 0 78 3
Peterborough United 2019–20[23] League One 30 0 4 0 1 0 2[a] 0 37 0
2020–21[24] League One 27 1 2 0 0 0 5[a] 1 31 1
Total 57 1 6 0 1 0 7 1 68 1
Career total 155 4 13 0 7 0 16 1 188 5
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Bradford City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 52. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Niall Mason". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Niall Mason". www.avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Evans, Gregg (11 July 2015). "Aston Villa in Portugal: The lowdown on 18-year-old Niall Mason who could make his debut tonight". Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  5. ^ Amin-ul Islam, Mohammad. "Niall eyes donning England colours". Doha Stadium Plus Qatar. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Doncaster Rovers sign former Real Madrid junior Niall Mason on loan from Aston Villa". www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Who Is Niall Mason?". Read Aston Villa. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Accrington Stanley 3–2 Doncaster Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Doncaster extension for Mason". Vital Football. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Niall Mason: Doncaster Rovers sign on-loan Aston Villa defender".
  11. ^ "Bristol Rovers 0–1 Doncaster: Niall Mason scores winner". Sky Sports. Press Association. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Doncaster 3–0 Northampton: Comfortable win for Rovers". Sky Sports. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Club statement". Doncaster Rovers F.C. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Niall Mason: Doncaster Rovers sack defender after sexual assault". BBC Sport. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  15. ^ "Niall Mason: Peterborough sign defender sacked by Doncaster after sexual assault". BBC. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Penalty Success For Posh After Entertaining Encounter". theposh.com. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Posh Confirm Retained List For Next Season". www.theposh.com.
  18. ^ Cran, George; Rae, Steven (18 August 2021). "Dundee end trial of convicted sex offender Niall Mason". The Courier. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  19. ^ "الشحانية يغلق ملف المحترفين بالتعاقد مع أمير روستائى ونايل" (in Arabic). Al Shahaniya SC. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Games played by Niall Mason in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Games played by Niall Mason in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Games played by Niall Mason in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Games played by Niall Mason in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Games played by Niall Mason in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2021.

External links