Charlie Williams (footballer, born 1944)

Charlie Williams
	Valletta and Malta International Soccer Player Picture taken in 1963
Personal information
Full name	Charlie Williams
Date of birth	15 February 1944 (age 80)
Place of birth	Valletta, Malta
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Valletta FC
Senior career*
Years	Team
1961–1967	Valletta FC
1967	Pittsburgh Phantoms
1968	San Diego Toros
1968	Dallas Tornado
1968–1969	Rochester Lancers
1970	Syracuse Scorpions
1971	Syracuse Suns
1972	Boston Astros
1973–1974	Syracuse Suns
1975	German Sports Club
1976–1977	Celano Italian Sports Club
International career
1964	Malta
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Charlie Williams (born 15 February 1944) is a Maltese former professional footballer player.

Williams learned to play football in the streets of Valletta. At the age of ten, he started playing organized soccer for the Valletta Lilywhites in the Valletta youth league. Williams entered Stella Maris College when he was 11 years old. He represented his school's top team on a regular basis.

During his playing days at the Independence Arena, Charlie was discovered by Valletta FC officials and was asked to join Valletta FC at the age of 13 years. At 16 years old, Charlie was the captain of the Valletta FC minors team, while also playing for the under-21 team and the Valletta FC reserves team on a regular basis.

The Malta Football Association (MFA) quickly picked him to represent Malta as a youth International. Charlie Williams made his Valletta FC debut at age 17, playing a midfielder. He scored many important goals for Valletta FC, notably against Norwich City FC. Another crucial goal was against Floriana FC 3 minutes from time to give Valletta FC their 1962/63 championship.

During his stay with Valletta FC, Williams won the League Championship, Scicluna Cup, FA Trophy and the Cassar Cup. He represented Valletta FC in European competitions, playing against Dukla Prague in the European Cup and against Real Zaragoza in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

At the age of 18, Charlie Williams made his International debut playing for the Malta National Football Team against Italy C. He also played for the Malta National Football Team at the Liguria, Italy tournament where Malta finished in 3rd place, beating Italy and tying the Netherlands.

At the age of 23, first Norwich City, and then the newly formed professional football league in the United States, National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), recruited Williams. In 1967 he decided to sign a professional contract to play in the NPSL, which later became the NASL. He was a pioneer in North American soccer, as he was one of the first players to form the original founding teams. Among the American sides he played for were the Pittsburgh Phantoms, San Diego Toros, Dallas Tornado and Rochester Lancers. He also played for ASL sides Syracuse Scorpions, Syracuse Suns and Boston Astros.

When Williams retired from playing, he decided to take up a coaching career. In 1995, he was voted Best Coach in the State of New York. He also founded and operated his own football academy from 1993 to 2006. Charlie retired in 2010.