Jack Pelter

Jack Anthony Pelter (born 30 July 1987) is a footballer who plays as centre-back for Metro F.C. in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier. He previously played for Canterbury United, Sunderland, Western Suburbs FC, Vålerenga and Waitakere United.

Club career New Zealand Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, Pelter emigrated with his family to New Zealand at the age of eight and entered the New Zealand Football Academy whilst twelve years old. He exhibited a love for football in his school work, writing an essay on his personal hero Roy Keane, He went on to play in the National Soccer League for Christchurch Technical, Ferrymead Bays and Central United. He was taken back to England at the age of fifteen by New Zealand Knights manager Chris Turner who introduced him to the scouting teams at Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea and Swansea City.

After recovering from a serious back injury on his return, Pelter moved to New Zealand Football Championship team Canterbury United in 2005. He was offered a first team contract by the club in August but an ankle injury he had picked up during the World Cup put the deal in some doubt so he was initially offered a one-month deal, before signing a one-year contract three weeks later in September 2007 on successful completion of his medical. He was released by the club at the end of the 2007–08 season, after which he trained with Bradford City.

Vålerenga On 31 August 2009, it was announced that Pelter had joined Vålerenga Fotball in Oslo, Norway, on loan. Pelter primarily played with the B team in the Norwegian Second Division for the remainder of the season.

International career Pelter has represented New Zealand at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels. He made his Under-17 debut, against Tahiti, in 2003. He made his debut against Mexico on 8 July 2007 at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton also scored New Zealand's only goal of the tournament in that match, as they failed to progress beyond the group stages.

In 2006, Pelter played for the New Zealand A team in the quadrangular Agribank Cup Tournament in Hanoi, Vietnam. All matches were held at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium, and the team finished third behind hosts Vietnam, Bahrain under 21, and Thailand. New Zealand A were beaten 1–0 by Vietnam in their first game of the tournament on 25 October 2006, they were again beaten 1–0 by Thailand on 27 October. New Zealand A finally gained their first and only win beating Bahrain U21 1–0 on 29 October with Leo Shin scoring the goal.