Nathan Aspinall has spent years making a name for himself on the oche, but there was a time when darts was nowhere near the centre of his sporting ambitions.
Long before “The Asp” became a major PDC star, the Stockport-born thrower was dreaming about becoming a professional footballer. His route even took him into the Manchester United goalkeeping academy, while Rangers also showed an interest in him as a youngster.
That little-known part of Aspinall’s story has come back into focus after his memorable stag do in Ibiza, where his love of football unexpectedly collided with the world of darts.
The Asp’s football secret
Aspinall’s football background is more serious than many darts fans might realise.
Growing up as a Manchester United supporter, he was heavily influenced by the club and by David Beckham. His father was a huge United fan and had a season ticket, giving Aspinall plenty of opportunities to watch his heroes at Old Trafford.
But watching football was only part of the dream.
Aspinall actually played as a goalkeeper and was good enough to attract attention from professional clubs. He trained at Manchester United’s goalkeeping academy, had trials with Stockport and was offered a contract by Rangers when he was still a child.
“I wanted to be David Beckham as a goalkeeper. I played at a decent standard. I was at the Man United goalkeeping academy,” Aspinall said.
It is one of those sporting stories that makes you wonder how different someone’s career could have been.
Instead of throwing darts in packed arenas, Aspinall might have been standing between the posts.
Height ultimately changed everything
The problem was not a lack of ambition.
Aspinall explained that his height became a major obstacle as he progressed through the football pathway. Goalkeeping is obviously one position where physical dimensions can have a huge influence, particularly when clubs are assessing young players for their long-term potential.
“I had trials for Stockport and got offered a contract at Rangers. I played semi-pro for a season,” he explained.
“I always wanted to be a footballer, most kids growing up wanted to be like their idols playing football.”
He eventually accepted that his football career was unlikely to reach the professional level he had imagined.
“I had a little taste of it. But when it came to the crunch, I wasn’t tall enough.”
That decision helped send him down a completely different sporting road.
Aspinall only began playing darts seriously as a teenager, despite his father and grandfather already playing. His football ambitions had dominated his childhood, so darts initially sat well behind the sport he thought would become his career.
From goalkeeper to darts star
The alternative career has turned out pretty well.
Aspinall eventually became one of the leading players on the PDC circuit, winning major titles and establishing himself as one of the sport’s most recognisable personalities.
His breakthrough included the UK Open in 2019, while his victory at the World Matchplay in 2023 further underlined his status among the elite. He has also reached as high as fourth in the world rankings.
That makes the football story even more fascinating.
There is a genuine parallel between the two sports. Goalkeeping requires concentration, reactions and the ability to perform when pressure is at its highest. Darts demands many of those same qualities, although in a completely different environment.
Aspinall has also spoken about how his competitive background in football helped shape him as a darts player.
In many ways, the career change did not mean leaving competitive sport behind. It simply meant finding another way to compete.
Then came the Ibiza stag do
The football connection became particularly entertaining during Aspinall’s stag do in Ibiza earlier this year.
The darts star headed to the Spanish island with fellow professionals Chris Dobey, Ross Smith and Joe Cullen to celebrate ahead of his wedding.
And then came an unexpected sporting crossover.
At O Beach, Aspinall and his group crossed paths with England stars Ella Toone and Mary Earps, who were also in Ibiza for a hen party.
For Aspinall, the meeting was particularly fitting given his Manchester United connections and his history as a goalkeeper.
He shared a picture of Earps on social media and called her an “England legend”.
He also posted a picture with Toone alongside the caption: “Stag and hen together. Git up Manchester.”
It was a pretty remarkable coincidence.
One group contained elite darts players. The other included stars of English women’s football. And standing in the middle of it all was a darts professional who had once dreamed of becoming a footballer himself.
A different kind of sporting crossover
What makes the story enjoyable is that Aspinall’s football background does not feel like a random celebrity connection.
Football has always been part of his identity.
He remains a passionate Manchester United supporter, and his childhood memories of watching the club at Old Trafford clearly remain important to him. David Beckham was particularly influential, with Aspinall recalling the famous halfway-line goal against Wimbledon and even copying Beckham’s hairstyle as a youngster.
“I did have a skinhead! Unfortunately I never had the right foot. I actually have a photo of me with the David Beckham curtains. I don’t think I could pull it off now. But back in the day it was all in.”
That quote sums up the story perfectly.
There is a bit of nostalgia, a bit of humour and a reminder that elite athletes often have sporting journeys that look completely different before they become famous.
The Asp’s story could have been very different
It is easy to look at Aspinall now and imagine that darts was always his destiny.
It wasn’t.
His early ambition was football, and he got close enough to professional pathways to understand what might have been. The height issue eventually closed that door, but another opened.
That makes his story more interesting than simply being a darts player enjoying a wild stag do in Ibiza.
He went from dreaming about becoming a goalkeeper to becoming a major darts champion, and years later found himself celebrating his wedding alongside some of the same footballing world he once hoped to join.
The darts career ultimately became the one that worked.
And judging by everything Aspinall has achieved since making the switch, it is difficult to argue that he made the wrong sporting move.
Still, you cannot help wondering how different things might have been if The Asp had been a few inches taller.
Would we now be talking about Nathan Aspinall the goalkeeper instead of Nathan Aspinall the darts star?
That is the alternate sporting universe worth thinking about. And after seeing how his darts career has unfolded, fans can be very glad that he eventually found his way to the oche.