Niall David Stephen Canavan

Niall Canavan played almost every league match of Scunthorpe United's 2013–14 season, missing one, as they finished second in League Two and went up automatically to League One. He had been at the club since his academy days and signed his first professional contract in April 2009.

He began in the youth ranks at Bradford City before moving to Scunthorpe. A short loan at Shrewsbury Town in 2011 brought three appearances. Back at Scunthorpe he became a regular and made 154 league appearances before being released at the end of the 2015–16 season. By then he had already moved: Rochdale took him on an emergency loan in February 2016, and in May he signed there on a two-year contract. He made 28 league appearances for them.

Plymouth Argyle signed him on a free transfer in June 2018, and he played 78 league matches over three seasons. In January 2021 he went back to Bradford City, where his youth career had started, and played 33 league games before leaving in January 2022.

His longest spell came at Barrow, who signed him that month. He became captain, led the side in League Two and made 166 league appearances. Across Scunthorpe, Rochdale, Plymouth, Bradford and Barrow he played more than 470 league matches and scored 31 goals.

He left Barrow in the summer of 2026. On 1 August he joined National League club Boston United on a free transfer, signing an initial one-year deal.