Kim Grant (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Kimberley Tyrone "Kim" Grant (born 25 September 1972) is a Ghana
ian former footballer and is the manager
of F.C. Takoradi
. Grant has been involved in professional football for over 18 years, playing in European and Asian leagues.
, Grant started his career at Charlton Athletic
in their youth system
and he signed his first professional
contract in March 1991. He went on to make 155 appearances spanning over nine years and scoring 25 goals. He later made appearances for Charlton against Manchester United
and Liverpool
in the FA Cup
and scored a 20 yard curler to beat David James
in a 2–1 defeat to in 1996.
In March 1996, Luton Town
paid £250,000 to bring him to Kenilworth Road
. He spent one and half years at Luton, making 43 appearances and scoring eight goals. Following a loan spell in which he scored four goals in five appearances, Grant moved to Millwall
for £185,000 in September 1997 and went on to make 57 appearances, scoring nine goals. He was on loan at Notts County
from December 1998 to February 1999, where he made six appearances and scored one goal.
Grant left Millwall in 1999 to play in the Belgium Premier League with KFC Lommel, commanding a transfer fee of £65,000. After one season with Lommel, during which he scored three goals in 19 league appearances, he left and played in the Portuguese second division for F.C. Marco
in the 2000–01 season, making two league appearances.
Grant returned to England in August 2001 after signing for Scunthorpe United
, making five appearances and scoring one goal, before signing with Yeovil Town
in October. In his first year, Yeovil won the FA Trophy
cup and finished second in the Football Conference
. In his second year, Yeovil were crowned champions of the Football Conference, wining promotion to the Football League
.
Having made 39 appearances and scored eight goals for Yeovil Grant returned to Portugal in 2003 to sign for Imortal Albufeira where he played for the 2003–04 season, making 12 league appearances and scoring six goals. Grant later played in the Malaysian Super league for Sarawak FA
, scoring three goals in eight league appearances in 2004. A spell with Japanese 2nd division side Shonan Bellmare
followed, failing to make any appearances in 2005.
He returned to England with Gravesend & Northfleet in August 2005. After making seven appearances and scoring one goal for Gravesend Grant had a four-game spell with AFC Wimbledon
after signing in February 2006. He signed for Sengkang Punggol FC of the S.League
in 2006, where he scored 10 goals in 19 league appearances. He signed for Geylang United FC
in 2007, making seven league appearances and scoring three goals.
seven times and scored once for his country of birth Ghana
.
of Conference National side Woking
in May 2008. However, after seven games, from which Woking picked up two points, he was sacked on 3 September. He returned to Ghana in the summer of 2009 to become owner and head coach of newly-founded club F.C. Takoradi
.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian former footballer and is the manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
of F.C. Takoradi
F.C. Takoradi
Takoradi Football Club is an Ghanaian football club based in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. They are a member of the Ghana Football Association.-History:...
. Grant has been involved in professional football for over 18 years, playing in European and Asian leagues.
Club career
Born in Sekondi-TakoradiSekondi-Takoradi
Sekondi-Takoradi, population 335,000 , comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi, is the capital of the Western Region of Ghana. It is Ghana's fourth largest city and an industrial and commercial center. The chief industries are timber, plywood, shipbuilding and railroad repair and...
, Grant started his career at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
in their youth system
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
and he signed his first professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
contract in March 1991. He went on to make 155 appearances spanning over nine years and scoring 25 goals. He later made appearances for Charlton against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and scored a 20 yard curler to beat David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
in a 2–1 defeat to in 1996.
In March 1996, Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
paid £250,000 to bring him to Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road Stadium is a football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been home to Luton Town Football Club since 1905, when financial complications forced the club to leave its previous location at Dunstable Road...
. He spent one and half years at Luton, making 43 appearances and scoring eight goals. Following a loan spell in which he scored four goals in five appearances, Grant moved to Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
for £185,000 in September 1997 and went on to make 57 appearances, scoring nine goals. He was on loan at Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
from December 1998 to February 1999, where he made six appearances and scored one goal.
Grant left Millwall in 1999 to play in the Belgium Premier League with KFC Lommel, commanding a transfer fee of £65,000. After one season with Lommel, during which he scored three goals in 19 league appearances, he left and played in the Portuguese second division for F.C. Marco
F.C. Marco
Futebol Clube do Marco is a Portuguese football team based in Marco de Canaveses, Porto District. Founded in 1927, it currently plays in the Porto Regional Championship, holding home games at Estádio Municipal de Marco de Canaveses, which has a 10,000-seat capacity.-History:Futebol Clube do Marco...
in the 2000–01 season, making two league appearances.
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....
, making five appearances and scoring one goal, before signing with Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
in October. In his first year, Yeovil won the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
cup and finished second in the Football Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
. In his second year, Yeovil were crowned champions of the Football Conference, wining promotion to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
.
Having made 39 appearances and scored eight goals for Yeovil Grant returned to Portugal in 2003 to sign for Imortal Albufeira where he played for the 2003–04 season, making 12 league appearances and scoring six goals. Grant later played in the Malaysian Super league for Sarawak FA
Sarawak FA
The Football Association of Sarawak enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the state of Sarawak...
, scoring three goals in eight league appearances in 2004. A spell with Japanese 2nd division side Shonan Bellmare
Shonan Bellmare
are a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2. The team is located in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture; their home stadium is Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium in Hiratsuka. The name Bellmare is derived from the Latin "bellum" for "war" and "mare"...
followed, failing to make any appearances in 2005.
He returned to England with Gravesend & Northfleet in August 2005. After making seven appearances and scoring one goal for Gravesend Grant had a four-game spell with AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is a professional English football club that traces its origins to Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. Based at Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, the club are members of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football....
after signing in February 2006. He signed for Sengkang Punggol FC of the S.League
S.League
The S.League is the top men's professional association football league in Singapore. The league was launched in 1996 and currently involves 12 clubs.-History:...
in 2006, where he scored 10 goals in 19 league appearances. He signed for Geylang United FC
Geylang United FC
Geylang United Football Club is a professional football club from Singapore, currently playing in the S.League. The club is based in Bedok and their home ground is Bedok Stadium. Their mascot is an eagle, and hence the team is also known as "the Eagles"....
in 2007, making seven league appearances and scoring three goals.
International career
From 1996 to 1997, Grant was cappedCap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
seven times and scored once for his country of birth Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
.
Coaching and managerial career
Grant was appointed as managerManager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
of Conference National side Woking
Woking F.C.
Woking Football Club is a football club from in Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They are playing in the Conference South in the 2011–12 season. For the 2011/2012 season, Woking are sharing their ground with Conference National club Hayes & Yeading United.-Promotion to the...
in May 2008. However, after seven games, from which Woking picked up two points, he was sacked on 3 September. He returned to Ghana in the summer of 2009 to become owner and head coach of newly-founded club F.C. Takoradi
F.C. Takoradi
Takoradi Football Club is an Ghanaian football club based in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. They are a member of the Ghana Football Association.-History:...
.