Ezekiel Williams

Ezekiel Williams, known to teammates and fans as "Eze", was a 26-year-old English footballer who played non-league football in and around London. At the time of his death he was a midfielder for Hendon FC, a club in the eighth-tier Isthmian League South Central Division, which he had joined only in September 2026. He had previously played for Ascot United and Marlow FC, clubs where he was remembered fondly after news of his death broke.

Williams was not a household name in professional football, but within the non-league game he was well regarded as a committed, hardworking player. Ascot United, one of his former clubs, described him in a tribute as a polite, respectful young man and a credit to his family. Hendon FC, his club at the time of his death, called him a humble, unassuming member of the squad who had scored his first goal for the club only ten days before he died, in a match against Jersey Bulls.

Williams died in hospital on Monday 2 November 2026, two days after he was seriously assaulted in the early hours of Sunday 1 November in Midsummer Boulevard, in the centre of Milton Keynes, England. Thames Valley Police were called to the scene after reports of an assault and he was taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Following his death, the force launched a murder investigation, and by the following days three men had been arrested, two on suspicion of murder and a third on suspicion of assisting an offender. Police said a family liaison team was supporting Williams's family and that they did not believe there was any wider risk to the public in Milton Keynes.

The news prompted an outpouring of grief across non-league football. Hendon FC postponed a scheduled cup tie as a mark of respect and issued a statement mourning his loss, and Ascot United and other clubs connected to Williams posted their own tributes on social media. Supporters and former teammates described a young man whose life and promising football career were cut short in a sudden and shocking act of violence, and a GoFundMe page was set up to support his family in the aftermath.

Williams's death has resonated well beyond the small world of non-league football because of the manner of it: a young amateur player, by all accounts well liked and dedicated to his sport, killed in a street assault in a town where he had no obvious connection other than being present that night. As the police investigation continues, many of the basic facts of what happened, and why, remain under inquiry, and this page will be updated as confirmed information becomes available.