Mark William Ward is a former footballer from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. He started his career as a youth player with Everton F.C.

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 and then played for Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

, West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

, Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

, Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

, Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

, Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

, Ayr United

Ayr United F.C.

Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...

, Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

, Dundee

Dundee F.C.

Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...

, Valur

Valur

Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic athletic club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. One of Iceland's most prolific clubs it celebrates its 100th birthday in 2011. The club is situated close to the city centre, in the traditional east side of town, at the old farmgrounds of Hlíðarendi...

 and Northwich Victoria

Northwich Victoria F.C.

Northwich Victoria Football Club are an English football club who play at the Victoria Stadium in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.Northwich are an old club, founded in 1874 and named in honour of...

.

Imprisonment

After the end of his football career he became involved in the supply of cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

 in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. He was arrested after 4 kg (9 lb) of cocaine were found during a raid at a house in Prescot

Prescot

Prescot is a town and civil parish, within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It is 8 miles to the east of Liverpool city centre and lies within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. At the 2001 Census, the population was 11,184 .Prescot marks the beginning of the...

, Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

, in May 2005. In October 2005 he was jailed for eight years. He was released from Kirkham Prison in May 2009 having served four years, in Kirkham and in Walton Prison.

External links

• Statistics at soccerbase.com
• Interview after imprisonment