AFC Totton
GOING INTO THE SECOND HALF of the 2024/25 Southern League Premier Division South season, AFC Totton boss Jimmy Ball has added forward Ben Seymour to his squad, bringing the 25-year-old to the Snows Stadium on loan from current National League South leaders Torquay United.
Born in Watford, Benjamin Mark Seymour came through the youth ranks of Exeter City to sign his first professional deal in April 2017, shortly before going on loan to Weston-super-Mare for whom he made eight appearances. But it was at Bideford AFC in that same 2017/18 season that he struck 21 goals in 33 Southern League South & West outings.
In 2018/19, he was loaned to Gloucester City and then Dorchester Town, scoring one goal in 12 games for The Tigers and 14 in 26 for The Magpies.
Seymour returned to Exeter City to make his first team debut in an EFL Cup tie against Coventry City, and then his league debut as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw with Leyton Orient. His first goal for The Grecians came an EFL Trophy tie against Swindon Town on 06 October 2020.
In the 2021/22 season, he played four times on loan for Yeovil Town, then in the National League, before switching to Bath City for whom he appeared 11 times in the National League South. At the end of that season he was released by Exeter City, having made a total of 71 appearances for the club (including 50 in the league) and scored three goals.
He signed for Plymouth Parkway in time for the 2022/23 season and hit 20 goals in 37 games in the Southern League Premier Division South for the Bolitho Park club, sparking interest from National League South club Hampton & Richmond who signed him in the summer of 2023.
Having scored four goals in October 2023, Seymour won the National League South Player of the Month award. He later told the DevonLive website that his spell with The Beavers helped him to fall back in love with the game, after the disappointment of his release from Exeter City.
He scored 14 goals in 41 games for Hampton & Richmond, before moving to Torquay United last summer, and then returned for another loan at Bath City in November.
His move to AFC Totton was finalised on the morning of the game at Merthyr Town on Tuesday 14 January 2025, and having been named on the bench, he made his Stags debut as a second-half substitute for Scott Rendell in the one-all top-of-the-table draw at Penydarren Park.
After the match, Jimmy Ball told AFC Totton TV:
“Ben is an exciting attacking player with loads of energy and loads of pace. He’s skilful and a good finisher, so he’ll add a new dimension to how we attack and how we play.”
AFC Totton’s Director of Football James Beattie played an integral part in securing the deal for the centre-forward, whose manager at Plainmoor is the former Southampton and Plymouth Argyle defender Paul Wootton.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Image courtesy of Torquay United Football Club
