Niall Thompson


Niall Joseph Thompson is a Canadian soccer player and coach, who works currently as coach for Surrey United Firefighters.

Club career

Thompson moved to Canada, aged two, and later played for the Edmonton Brickmen, Winnipeg Fury and PSV Eindhoven youth teams. He started his professional career as a trainee with Crystal Palace but after an unsuccessful spell moved to play for Colchester United, before returning to Canada for family reasons. Thompson played on for Montreal Impact, Seattle Sounders and Zultse VV, before returning to Canada again to play local football, while waiting for a visa which would allow him to play in the United States. Seattle Sounders expressed interest in re-signing him, but could not due to visa issues. A friend contacted Micky Adams, then-manager of English Second Division side Brentford and Thompson signed for the club on non-contract terms in February 1998. After leaving the Bees in September 1998, Thompson went on to play for Vancouver 86ers, Airdrieonians, Bay Area Seals, Wycombe Wanderers, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.

International career

Thompson represented Canada at the 1991 Pan American Games.
He made his senior debut for Canada in a March 1993 friendly match against South Korea and earned a total of nine caps, scoring two goals. He represented Canada in just one FIFA World Cup qualification match, in October 2000. That game, against Panama, proved to be his final international.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14 June 1995Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1–21–3Friendly
218 May 1998Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada1–01–0Friendly

Personal life

While living in Vancouver in late 1997, Thompson worked for Umbro in a bid to earn money for a flight ticket back to the UK.