Jack Pelter
Encyclopedia
Jack Anthony Pelter is a New Zealand
professional footballer who plays as Centre back for Metro F.C. in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier. He previously played for Canterbury United
, Sunderland
, Western Suburbs
, Vålerenga and Waitakere United
.
, Cumbria
, England
, Pelter emigrated with his family to New Zealand
at the age of eight and entered the New Zealand Football Academy whilst twelve years old. He exhibited a love for football in his school work, writing an essay on his personal hero Roy Keane
, whilst also supporting English team Blackburn Rovers
. He went on to play in the National Soccer League
for Christchurch Technical
, Ferrymead Bays
and Central United
. He was taken back to England
at the age of fifteen by New Zealand Knights
manager Chris Turner who introduced him to the scouting teams at Bolton Wanderers
, Chelsea
and Swansea City
.
After recovering from a serious back injury on his return, Pelter moved to New Zealand Football Championship
team Canterbury United
in 2005. Due to the semi-professional
nature of football in New Zealand, Pelter had to take on other jobs to finance his football regime, with his mother later commenting "After training, he'd go to work in a bar until two in the morning to fund his career, he was running, training and swimming on his own, he used to get up on cold mornings on his own to go running".
The winner of Canterbury United's "Defender of the Year" award and runner-up for "Player of the Year" in only his first season with the club, Pelter subsequently attracted the attention of European clubs in 2007 following his international progress. Born in the United Kingdom, he was eligible to play for any EU
club without the need for a work permit
and reserve team
and youth contracts were offered to him by Leeds United and AC Milan amongst others.
in July 2007, appearing in the pre-season friendly defeat against Scunthorpe United
and reserve team games against Berwick Rangers
and Hebburn Town
. He was offered a first team contract by the club in August but an ankle injury he had picked up during the World Cup put the deal in some doubt so he was initially offered a one-month deal, before signing a one-year contract three weeks later in September 2007 on successful completion of his medical. He was released by the club at the end of the 2007–08
season, after which he trained with Bradford City
.
. Pelter will predominately play for the B team, in the Norwegian Second Division
, for the remainder of the season.
, in 2003. He was part of New Zealand's Under-20 World Cup 2007
squad, of which he was captain. He made his debut against Mexico
on 8 July 2007 at the Commonwealth Stadium
in Edmonton
also scored New Zealand's only goal of the tournament in that match, as they failed to progress beyond the group stages.
Pelter was part of the New Zealand A team that performed in the quadrangular Agribank Cup Tournament
in Hanoi
, Vietnam
in 2006, with every game being played at the My Dinh Stadium, eventually finishing third in the tournament that also featured Vietnam
the hosts, Bahrain under 21
and Thailand
.
New Zealand A were beaten 1–0 by Vietnam
in their first game of the tournament on 25 October 2006, they were again beaten 1–0 by Thailand
on 27 October.
New Zealand A finally gained their first and only win beating Bahrain U21
1–0 on 29 October with Leo Shin
scoring the goal.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
professional footballer who plays as Centre back for Metro F.C. in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier. He previously played for Canterbury United
Canterbury United
Canterbury United FC is an association football club from Christchurch, New Zealand. The club plays most of its matches at English Park in Christchurch, though they occasionally play in Nelson...
, Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
, Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs is an association football club in Porirua, New Zealand. They play their home matches at Endeavour Park in the Porirua suburb of Whitby and compete in the Central Premier League....
, Vålerenga and Waitakere United
Waitakere United
Waitakere United is a football club based in Waitakere City, New Zealand. They are one of the franchises in the ASB Premiership. They play their home games at Fred Taylor Park in Kumeu.-History:...
.
New Zealand
Born in Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Pelter emigrated with his family to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
at the age of eight and entered the New Zealand Football Academy whilst twelve years old. He exhibited a love for football in his school work, writing an essay on his personal hero Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
, whilst also supporting English team Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
. He went on to play in the National Soccer League
New Zealand National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is a name given to competitions in which New Zealand's top soccer clubs play each other, at least two times, on a home and away basis . At the completion of the competition, the best-performed team is declared as the New Zealand champion...
for Christchurch Technical
Christchurch Technical
Christchurch Technical was a soccer club based in Christchurch, New Zealand.It was formed in 1923 as Technical Old Boys. The club changed its name to ChristchurchTechnical in 1968. It was also known temporarily as ChristchurchCity....
, Ferrymead Bays
Ferrymead Bays
Ferrymead Bays is a semi-professional association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in the Robbie's Premier Football League.They are current champions of the Robbie's Premier League and their home ground is Barnett Park in Redcliffs....
and Central United
Central United
Central United Football Club is a semi-professional Association football club based in Sandringham, Auckland, New Zealand...
. He was taken back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the age of fifteen by New Zealand Knights
New Zealand Knights FC
This page details the history of the club. For information on seasons and results see New Zealand Knights seasons 2005-06 and 2006-07New Zealand Knights Football Club were the only professional football club in New Zealand before they became defunct...
manager Chris Turner who introduced him to the scouting teams at Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
and Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
.
After recovering from a serious back injury on his return, Pelter moved to New Zealand Football Championship
New Zealand Football Championship
The New Zealand Football Championship is the national association football league in New Zealand. It is a professional/semi-professional status Association football sports Franchise league that is operated by New Zealand Football...
team Canterbury United
Canterbury United
Canterbury United FC is an association football club from Christchurch, New Zealand. The club plays most of its matches at English Park in Christchurch, though they occasionally play in Nelson...
in 2005. Due to the semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
nature of football in New Zealand, Pelter had to take on other jobs to finance his football regime, with his mother later commenting "After training, he'd go to work in a bar until two in the morning to fund his career, he was running, training and swimming on his own, he used to get up on cold mornings on his own to go running".
The winner of Canterbury United's "Defender of the Year" award and runner-up for "Player of the Year" in only his first season with the club, Pelter subsequently attracted the attention of European clubs in 2007 following his international progress. Born in the United Kingdom, he was eligible to play for any EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
club without the need for a work permit
Work permit
Work permit is a generic term for a legal authorization which allows a person to take employment.It is most often used in reference to instances where a person is given permission to work in a country where one does not hold citizenship, but is also used in reference to minors, who in some...
and reserve team
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...
and youth contracts were offered to him by Leeds United and AC Milan amongst others.
Sunderland
He took up the offer of a trial at SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
in July 2007, appearing in the pre-season friendly defeat against Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
and reserve team games against Berwick Rangers
Berwick Rangers F.C.
Berwick Rangers Football Club are a football team based in the English Border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, although they play in the Scottish Football League Third Division...
and Hebburn Town
Hebburn Town F.C.
Hebburn Town F.C. is an English football club based in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear. The club are currently members of Division Two of the Northern League and play at the Hebburn Sports & Social Ground.-History:...
. He was offered a first team contract by the club in August but an ankle injury he had picked up during the World Cup put the deal in some doubt so he was initially offered a one-month deal, before signing a one-year contract three weeks later in September 2007 on successful completion of his medical. He was released by the club at the end of the 2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
season, after which he trained with Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
.
Vålerenga
On 31 August 2009 it was announced that Pelter had joined Vålerenga Fotball in Oslo, Norway on loanLoan (football)
In sports, a loan involves a particular player being allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long....
. Pelter will predominately play for the B team, in the Norwegian Second Division
Norwegian Second Division
The Norwegian Second Division is the third highest division of the Norwegian football league system. Since 2009, the official name of the league has been Fair Play-ligaen....
, for the remainder of the season.
International career
Pelter has represented New Zealand at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels. He made his Under-17 debut, against TahitiTahiti national football team
The Tahiti national football team is the national team of French Polynesia and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football.They finished second in the OFC Nations Cup in its first three installments, 1973, 1980, and 1996. In 2009 the under 20 team qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in...
, in 2003. He was part of New Zealand's Under-20 World Cup 2007
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...
squad, of which he was captain. He made his debut against Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
on 8 July 2007 at the Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.- History :...
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
also scored New Zealand's only goal of the tournament in that match, as they failed to progress beyond the group stages.
Pelter was part of the New Zealand A team that performed in the quadrangular Agribank Cup Tournament
Agribank Cup
The Vietnam Football Federation Cup or VFF Cup is an annual football tournament organised in Vietnam. The organisation of the tournament was announced on August 19, 2004, replacing the Independence Cup. Every year the tournament is held at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi...
in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in 2006, with every game being played at the My Dinh Stadium, eventually finishing third in the tournament that also featured Vietnam
Vietnam national football team
The Vietnam national football team is the national football team representing Vietnam and is managed by the Vietnam Football Federation.In the FIFA World Rankings, Vietnam's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in September 1998, at 84th...
the hosts, Bahrain under 21
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
and Thailand
Thailand national football team
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international football competition and is governed by the Football Association of Thailand. The team has a history of success in Southeast Asian competition, with three ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast...
.
New Zealand A were beaten 1–0 by Vietnam
Vietnam national football team
The Vietnam national football team is the national football team representing Vietnam and is managed by the Vietnam Football Federation.In the FIFA World Rankings, Vietnam's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in September 1998, at 84th...
in their first game of the tournament on 25 October 2006, they were again beaten 1–0 by Thailand
Thailand national football team
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international football competition and is governed by the Football Association of Thailand. The team has a history of success in Southeast Asian competition, with three ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast...
on 27 October.
New Zealand A finally gained their first and only win beating Bahrain U21
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
1–0 on 29 October with Leo Shin
Leo Shin
Leo Shin is a New Zealand professional association football player who has played for Thespa Kusatsu in Japan's professional J. League.-International career:...
scoring the goal.
External links
- Jack Pelter's profile on Sunderland's official website
- Jack Pelter's profile at NZ Soccer