Omar Jerome Beckles

Omar Beckles was elected Chair of the Professional Footballers' Association in 2023, in the same year he captained Leyton Orient to the League Two title. The two roles say something about how his career has run.

He started at Millwall's youth set-up and then moved through the non-league game, with a spell at Jerez Industrial along the way. Boreham Wood, Kettering Town, Billericay Town, Histon, Margate, AFC Hornchurch and St Albans City followed in quick succession. In 2015 he signed for Aldershot Town, and the club's supporters named him their Player of the Year for 2015–16. Accrington Stanley signed him the following summer.

His biggest games came at Shrewsbury Town, whom he joined in August 2017. He started both of the club's Wembley finals in 2017–18. Shrewsbury lost the EFL Trophy final 1–0 to Lincoln City, then lost the League One play-off final 2–1 to Rotherham United.

Leyton Orient signed him from Crewe Alexandra in 2021. In 2022–23 he made both the EFL League Two and PFA League Two teams of the season. He also won the EFL Player in the Community Award and the London Football Awards' EFL Player of the Year. He has spoken publicly about his mental health after the death of his father in 2015.

Beckles made his debut for Grenada in September 2019, in a CONCACAF Nations League match against Saint Kitts and Nevis. He reached 200 appearances for Orient before joining Gillingham on a free transfer in February 2026.