As a player, he was a defender and midfielder and notably played in the Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest and Charlton Athletic.

He also played in the Football League for Leyton Orient and Ipswich Town, in Cyprus with APOEL and in Malta with Marsaxlokk.

Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Bart-Williams grew up in North London and attended The School of St. David's and St Katharine's in Hornsey.

Bart-Williams began his professional career at the age of 16 with Leyton Orient and scored on his debut, a 4–0 win against Tranmere Rovers on 2 February 1991.

[5] Bart-Williams played for Wednesday as a substitute in the 1993 FA Cup Final replacing Chris Waddle in the first game[6] and Roland Nilsson towards the end of the replay.

Bart-Williams had a successful spell with Forest, and even though he played as a defensive midfielder he managed to score 35 goals, even being the club's top scorer in the 2000–01 season, and was often clinical from free kicks and penalties.

[10] In December 2001, Bart-Williams left Forest, signing for Charlton Athletic, initially on a short-term contract.

[14] After unsuccessful attempts to lure Paul Gascoigne to the club,[15] on 6 August 2005 Maltese team Marsaxlokk signed Bart-Williams.