James Waite (footballer, born 1999)

James Tyler Waite is a Welsh footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Weston-super-Mare. He is a former Wales under-21 international.

Cardiff City
Born in Sebastopol, Pontypool, Wales, Waite progressed through the youth ranks at Cardiff City. In February 2017 he was rewarded with his first professional contract alongside teammates Connor Young and Cameron Coxe.

Hereford
In January 2019 he joined Hereford on a loan deal until the end of the 2018-19 National League North season. He scored the winning goal on his debut for Hereford in a 2-1 away win over York City on 5 February 2019.

Return to Cardiff City
On 27 August 2019, he made his debut appearance for Cardiff City as a 71st minute substitute for Gavin Whyte in a 3-0 home EFL Cup second round loss to Luton Town.

Weston-super-Mare
In October 2019, Waite joined Southern Premier Division side Weston-super-Mare on loan and made his debut in a 6-0 win over Dorchester Town. On 21 December 2019, he scored a hat-trick for Weston-super-Mare in a 4-0 away win over Harrow Borough. In January 2020, he saw his loan at Weston-super-Mare extended until the end of the season. On 11 February 2020, Waite scored his second hat-trick of his loan spell at Weston-super-Mare in a 5-0 home win over Wimborne Town.

In September 2020, he re-joined Weston-super-Mare on a season-long loan for the 2020-21 campaign. He returned to Cardiff at the end of January.

Waterford
He joined League of Ireland Premier Division club Waterford on loan on 24 February 2021. He made his debut for the club in the opening game of the season on 19 March 2021 as his side lost 1–0 away to newly promoted side Drogheda United.

Release by Cardiff City
On 1 June 2021, Cardiff City announced that Waite would be released following the end of his contract at the end of June. On 10 June Waterford confirmed that he had ended his loan spell at the club a few weeks early. He made a total of 12 appearances during his loan spell.

Penybont
In June 2021, Waite signed for Cymru Premier side Penybont.

Newport County
On 12 January 2022, Waite joined EFL League Two side Newport County on an eighteen-month contract, a move that saw him link up with his former Cardiff City youth coach James Rowberry. He made his debut for Newport on 15 January 2022 in the 4-0 League Two win against Harrogate Town as a second-half substitute. Waite scored his first goal for Newport on 5 March 2022 in the 1-0 League Two win against Bristol Rovers. In June 2023 Waite's Newport contract was extended by a further year to the end of the 2023-24 season.

On 8 May 2024, the club announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.

Weston-super-Mare
On 8 June 2024, Waite returned to National League South side Weston-super-Mare on a permanent contract.

International career
Waite has represented Wales at under-19 level, taking part in the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification in Turkey at the Arslan Zeki Demirci Sports Complex in an international against Slovakia.

Waite has also represented Wales at under-21 level, winning two caps during the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign in matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belgium.