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Emmerson Orlando Boyce (born 24 September 1979) is a professional football coach and former player. He was the manager of Wigan Athletic Women, leaving at the close of the 2024/25 season. He usually played as a right back, but could also be deployed in the centre of defence or at right wingback.
Born in Aylesbury, England, Boyce started his career at the age of 16 as an apprentice at Luton Town F.C. He eventually established himself in the first team, and went on to make 185 league appearances for the club, scoring eight goals.
He joined Crystal Palace F.C. on a free transfer in 2004, where he played in the Premier League for the first time, but the club was relegated to the Championship. He spent two years at the club, making 69 league appearances and scoring one goal.
After Crystal Palace failed to gain promotion, Boyce returned to Premier League football in 2006, this time with Wigan Athletic F.C. after completing a move for a fee of £1 million, and was a key player during his first season when the club narrowly avoided relegation. He remained an active member of the first-team throughout his spell at Wigan, and is the club's Premier League appearance record holder. In May 2013, he captained Wigan Athletic to victory in the 2013 FA Cup Final in a 1–0 win over Manchester City. He last played for Blackpool in the 2015–16 League One season.
Boyce has also represented the Barbados national team, making his debut for the side in 2008. He was the former the sporting director of the Barbados national team and is also the caretaker manager for the team.
Boyce was a key figure in the following season for Luton as they gained promotion back into the Second Division, and he was rewarded with a new two-year contract. Despite strong competition for places, he continued playing regularly for Luton in the 2002–03 season, making 34 appearances in the league. During his final season with the club, he made 42 league appearances, scoring four goals, and his performances were recognised when he received the Players' Player, Supporters' Player and Internet Player of the Season awards. In the summer of 2004, he rejected a new contract with Luton and decided to leave the club after his existing contract expired.
With 12 months remaining on his current contract, Boyce rejected a new deal with Palace, stating his desire to return to the Premier League. Rather than letting him leave for free at the end of his contract per the Bosman ruling, Palace accepted an offer for Boyce from Wigan Athletic.
At the start of the 2007–08 season, following the signing of Mario Melchiot as the club's new first choice right-back, Boyce found his first team opportunities more limited. However, after a poor start to the season by Wigan, he returned to the starting line-up, which saw an upturn in results, and the club once again avoided relegation. He made 25 league appearances during the season, most of which came during the second half of the season.
On 15 November 2008, he was sent off for the first time in his career in a 2–2 draw against Newcastle United, after receiving a second yellow card. Replays showed that the decision was harsh, and Wigan manager Steve Bruce called for rule changes to allow clubs to appeal against yellow cards, and also to introduce video technology. Two weeks later, on 29 November 2008, he scored his first goal for Wigan, a header from the edge of the area in a 2–1 win against West Bromwich Albion. He finished the 2008–09 season with 27 appearances.
In July 2009, he signed a new contract at Wigan, keeping him at the club until 2012. The 2009–10 season was a frustrating one for Boyce. Under new manager Roberto Martínez, he was initially part of the starting line-up, but after being replaced by new signing Gary Caldwell in January, his playing time became more limited. He played 24 times in the league, scoring three goals — the most he had scored in a season since leaving Luton.
Boyce was back in the starting line-up at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but suffered an injury against Bolton Wanderers in October 2010. He was initially expected to recover in two weeks, but was sidelined for considerably longer after aggravating the injury in training. He returned to the side on 8 January 2011 in the 3–2 FA Cup victory against Hull City. He appeared 22 times in the league, and started in the final game of the season against Stoke City, making a goal line clearance in the first half to keep the score level. Wigan went on to win the game 1–0, securing Premier League survival on the last day of the season for a second time. Boyce was the only Wigan player to play in both the Stoke game and the match against Sheffield United in 2007.
In August 2011, Boyce signed a new two-year contract at the club. On 25 February 2012, he made his 146th Premier League appearance in a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa, making him the club's record holder for most appearances in the Premier League. On 21 April, he scored his fifth league goal for Wigan in a 2–1 away defeat to Fulham. "Fulham 2–1 Wigan" BBC Sport. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012. On 9 May, Boyce was given the outstanding achievement award at Wigan's end of season awards. He followed this up on 13 May, the final match of the season, by scoring two goals against Wolves, including a spectacular volley from outside the penalty box.
In May 2013 he captained Wigan to win the FA Cup over Manchester City and jointly lifted the cup with non playing club captain Gary Caldwell. In March 2014, he was once again instrumental in captaining Wigan to an upset over Manchester City, this time in the 2014 FA Cup Quarterfinals.
In July 2024, Boyce was appointed as the manager of the newly formed Wigan Athletic Women. He took charge of the team for the 2024/25 season, in which the team won Lancashire Women's County League Championship title, winning all 17 matches, reached the Challenge Cup Semi-Final and the League Cup Final. In May 2025, after the close of the 2024/25 season, Boyce announced he was stepping down from his role.
Boyce became the first international ambassador for Street Soccer USA, an organisation which develops sports programs to help the homeless, and he has made appearances at homeless shelters in various cities across the United States. He was first introduced to the organisation after reading about it during a business trip to the United States. On his new role, Boyce commented that "Soccer is a global sport, it can lift all of our spirits and improve all of our lives and I want to promote the use of the beautiful game in this way. It is a privilege and an honor to be named the first International Ambassador for Street Soccer USA."
Boyce's sister is the solicitor I. Stephanie Boyce, who was inaugurated as Deputy Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales in July 2019, making history as the first black person to hold the position. In March 2021 she became the President of the Law Society of England and Wales becoming the first Black and the first person of colour to do so.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||
| Luton Town | 1998–99 | Second Division | 1||0||0||0||0||0||1Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy||0||2|0 |
| 1999–2000 | Second Division | 30||1||2||0||2||0||1||0||35|1 | |
| 2000–01 | Second Division | 42||3||3||0||4||0||0||0||49|3 | |
| 2001–02 | Third Division | 37||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||38|0 | |
| 2002–03 | Third Division | 34||0||2||0||2||0||1||0||39|0 | |
| 2003–04 | Second Division | 42||4||5||1||2||0||0||0||49|5 | |
| Crystal Palace | 2004–05 | Premier League | 27||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||28|0 |
| 2005–06 | Championship | 42||2||3||0||2||0||2Appearances in Championship play-offs||0||49|2 | |
| Wigan Athletic | 2006–07 | Premier League | 34||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||35|0 |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 25||0||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||27|0 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 27||1||1||0||3||0||colspan="2"|—||31|1 | |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 24||3||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||27|3 | |
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 22||0||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||25|0 | |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 26||3||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||27|3 | |
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 36||4||5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||41|4 | |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 42||2||6||0||1||0||8Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, one in FA Community Shield, two in Championship play-offs||0||57|2 | |
| 2014–15 | Championship | 0 | |
| Blackpool | 2015–16 | League One | 0 |
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| Barbados | 0 |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 0 | |
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2–0 |
|
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