Netan Sansara

Netan Nico Sansara (born 3 August 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Råde.

Netan Sansara
Sansara playing for Walsall
Personal information
Full name Netan Nico Sansara[1]
Date of birth (1989-08-03) 3 August 1989[1]
Place of birth Darlaston, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Råde
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Walsall 27 (0)
2010 Dundee 1 (0)
2010 AFC Telford United 0 (0)
2010–2011 Corby Town 25 (1)
2011–2012 PAEEK FC 26 (0)
2012–2013 FC Vestsjælland 2 (0)
2013–2014 Boston United 16 (1)
2014–2016 Fredrikstad 53 (4)
2017–2018 FC Edmonton 14 (0)
2018–2019 Gefle 23 (0)
2019–2020 Hødd 36 (4)
2021– Råde
National team
2007 England U18 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 December 2020 2020

He has previously played for Walsall, Dundee, AFC Telford United, Corby Town, PAEEK FC, FC Vestsjælland, Fredrikstad and FC Edmonton.

Early life

Sansara was born in Darlaston, West Midlands.[1] His parents were born in Britain and are of Indian descent.[2] He grew up there, playing for his local team Darlaston Town. As a child he attended Pinfold Street Primary School and Darlaston Community Science College School; he played for all school football teams. He also represented his county, the Staffordshire district. During his time in the Walsall youth team Sansara completed A-levels in Psychology, Physical Education and Biology.

Club career

Walsall

Sansara made his Walsall debut on 9 August 2008 in the League One game with Yeovil Town which ended in a 1–1 draw.[3] Having come through the youth ranks at Walsall, he was handed a professional contract at the age of 17, by then Walsall manager Richard Money, after impressing him during youth team and reserve team games.[4] Sansara made his professional debut the following season by newly appointed Walsall manager Jimmy Mullen against Yeovil Town. He said, "I thought he did well. But he's played well against Aston Villa and Wolves in pre-season, as well as other teams when Boertien wasn't available. I've given him his debut and he'll look back when he's 35 and say 'Jimmy Mullen gave me an opportunity'. He might even thank me one day! But I thought he was excellent – very good."[3]

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Sansara was handed the squad number three, by manager Chris Hutchings. However, during a pre-season friendly in July 2010 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sansara's progress was halted due to an ankle ligament injury sustained in a tackle with Greg Halford.[5] He made a return to action for his first start away at Colchester United in October 2009. The Saddlers lost 2–1.[6]

Sansara went on to make another 19 appearances during the 2009–10 season.

Dundee, AFC Telford and Corby

The start of August 2010, saw Sansara make five appearances for Dundee in the Scottish First Division. Following his release by Dundee in October he joined Grimsby Town on trial but failed to earn a deal and joined AFC Telford United on a non-contract basis deal.[7] He left the club without making an appearance and finished the season with Corby Town.

PAEEK

In July 2011, it had been announced that Sansara had signed for Cypriot side PAEEK FC. It had been revealed that Sansara had also received other offers during the summer but was to have been quoted stating he thought this move was the best for the development of his career.

On 17 September 2011, in the opening game of the season, Sansara made his debut for PAEEK FC. He completed the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win over Ethnikos Assia.[8]

In December 2011 it was announced that Sansara was offered a new deal by PAEEK FC after a string of impressive displays in defence for the Cypriot side.[9]

Sansara helped PAEEK FC to finish in fourth place.[10] He made 26 appearances out of 27, missing only one game through suspension after picking up five bookings. His performances for PAEEK FC saw him shortlisted for the Player of the Year award at the inaugural Asian Football Awards, which took place at Wembley Stadium in January 2012.[11] Sansara was offered a new contract in Dec 2011 and was said to be considering his options at the end of the 2011–12 campaign.

FC Vestsjælland

In July 2012 it was announced that Sansara had joined Danish First Division club FC Vestsjælland after rejecting a new two-year contract offered by former Cypriot club PAEEK. Sansara signed a one-year deal with the Danish club.[11][12] On 8 August, Sansara made his FC Vestsjælland debut against Hobro IK, playing the full 90 minutes. The game ended in a 1–1 draw.[13]

Boston United

In June 2013 Sansara turned down the chance to return to FC Vestsjælland after helping them win promotion to the Danish superliga.[14] In July 2013 Sansara joined Conference North side Boston United.[15]

Stourbridge FC

In January 2014 Sansara joined Calor League Southern Premier Division club Stourbridge FC[16] despite impressing he left the club for personal reasons in June 2014[17]

Fredrikstad

In July 2014 Sansara again made the move abroad this time to Norwegian first division club Fredrikstad.[18] Sansara made his debut in the club's first game back after the summer break playing the full 90 minutes against Bryne FK.[19]

On 8 September 2014, Sansara signed a new two-year deal with the Norwegian club until 2016. The defender impressed immensely in his first eight games for the club, he scored three times.[20]

On 27 February 2015 it was announced that Sansara was made first team captain of Fredrikstad for the coming season.[21]

FC Edmonton

On 9 February 2017, Sansara joined with North American Soccer League side FC Edmonton.[22]

Gefle IF

On 26 January 2018, Sansara joined Swedish second-tier side Gefle.[23]

IL Hødd

On 13 February 2019, Sansara joined 2. divisjon side Hødd on a two-year deal.[24] After the 2019 season Sansara was named in the 2. divisjon team of the year, voted as one of the best players in the league that season. [25] Ahead of the 2021 season Sansara signed for 4. divisjon (fifth tier) club Råde IL, also being employed in the club with marketing, events and coach development.

International career

Sansara was called up by the England national under-18 team in March 2007, for their match with the Netherlands.[26]

Personal life

Sansara worked with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to try to increase the number of British Asians taking up a career in professional football, and has attended meetings with the PFA to achieve this goal.[27]

He is also an ambassador for Kick It Out (Lets Kick Racism Out of Football), when appointed Sansara was quoted "I have been working closely with the Kick It Out campaign for a while now, and I look forward to continuing to assist the work. I hope to act as a role model to the next generation of young British Asian talent."[28][29][30]

In January 2012, Sansara was nominated for the Asian player of the year award 2012 at the Asian Football Awards. The event held at Wembley stadium and supported by Kick It Out (Lets Kick Racism Out Of Football) and The Football Association. He was nominated alongside players such as Zesh Rehman and Michael Chopra.[31]

In May 2013, Sansara was crowned the British Indian Awards sports personality of the year after a season with Danish team FC Vestsjælland. Sansara beat England cricketers Ravi Bopara and Monty Panesar to the award.[32]

Career statistics
As of match played 22 May 2016.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 2008–09[33] League One 100001000110
2009–10[34] League One 170200000190
Total 270201000300
Dundee 2010–11[35] Scottish First Division 10—000010
Corby Town 2010–11[36] Conference North 251———251
FC Vestsjælland 2012–13[37] Danish 1st Division 20——20
Boston United 2013–14[38] Conference North 16120—1[lower-alpha 1]0191
Fredrikstad 2014[37] Norwegian First Division 153——153
2015[37] OBOS-ligaen 291——291
2016[37] OBOS-ligaen 9020——110
Total 53420——554
Career total 12466010101326
  1. Appearance in FA Trophy

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. Williams, Jack (1 June 2017). "Netan Sansara: 'Why can't there be successful British Asian footballers?'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. Nick Pullen (11 August 2008). "Jimmy Mullen delight at rookie Netan Sansara performance". birminghammail. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. "Kid Sansara makes history « Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  5. Archived 18 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Archived 18 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Netan Sansara gets clearance to join AFC Telford « Shropshire Star". Shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  8. "Home - kerkida.net". Kerkida.net. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  9. "Sansara considering options". SkySports. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  10. "Summary - 2. Division - Cyprus - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  11. "DESIBALLERS". Desiballers.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  12. "FCV Vikings: FCV signs on Netan Sansara, our first player of Indian origin". Fcvvikings.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. "FCV Vikings: Remis i Hobro". Fcvvikings.dk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  14. "Englnder forlader Vestsjlland". bold.dk. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  15. "Sansara becomes sixth United arrival". Pitchero. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  16. "Sansara Signs for Stourbridge - Pitchero Non-League". Pitchero Non-League. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  17. "Netan Departs... but Andre re-signs - News - Stourbridge FC". www.stourbridgefc.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  18. "FFK har signert ny spiller". www.f-b.no. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  19. "Siste nytt - Fredrikstad". Velkommen til Fredrikstad fotballklubbs offisielle sider. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  20. "Siste nytt - Fredrikstad". Velkommen til Fredrikstad fotballklubbs offisielle sider. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  21. http://www.fredrikstadfk.no/latest-news/article/6o2sq3ghs9591j6ey9fthk6dq/title/her-er-ffks-kaptein-2015
  22. "FORMER FREDRIKSTAD CAPTAIN NETAN SANSARA SIGNS WITH FC EDMONTON". North American Soccer League. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  23. "NETAN SANSARA KLAR FÖR GEFLE IF FF" (in Swedish). Gefle IF. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  24. "NETAN HAR SIGNERT" (in Norwegian). IL Hødd. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  25. http://www.postnord.no/nb/postnordligaen/arets-lag-postnord-ligaen-2019
  26. "Football: Young defenders make strong case". Birmingham Post. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  27. https://web.archive.org/web/20120329060159/http://www.kickitout.org/news.php/news_id/3660. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. "Sansara ambassador for Kick It Out « Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  29. "Arunava about Football: PIO Netan Sansara signs contract in Cyprus". Arunfoot.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  30. Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  31. Archived 28 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  32. "WINNERS ANNOUNCED - The British Indian Awards". Asiansuk.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  33. "Games played by Netan Sansara in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  34. "Games played by Netan Sansara in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  35. "Games played by Netan Sansara in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  36. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-1-869833-70-1.
  37. "N. Sansara". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  38. "N. Sansara". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
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