Born in Zambia and raised in South Wales, Earnshaw joined Cardiff City as a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) trainee in 1997, and turned professional a year later.

[4] His uncle Fidelis was also a professional footballer who played for Nkana and two of his cousins, Kalusha and Joel Bwalya, represented Zambia at international level.

[6] When Earnshaw was five, his family moved to Malawi where his father, took charge of a coal mine and his youngest son began attending St. Andrews School in Lilongwe.

[3] Following the death of her husband, Rita decided to move the family to Bedwas, a small Welsh town near Caerphilly where her sister lived,[3] in 1991.

[5][8] Cardinal Newman was a rugby union-playing school so Earnshaw's first organised football match came at the age of 11 with local youth side Llanbradach.

[14][15] He made his professional debut on 6 September 1997 as a substitute in place of Scott Partridge during a 2–0 defeat to Millwall in the Football League Trophy.

With Cardiff losing 1–0, Earnshaw scored a bicycle kick from ten yards out following a cross by John Williams to earn his side a point.

[15][16] However, after appearing in three further matches during the opening month of the season, he spent time away from Cardiff to attend trials with Middlesbrough under Bryan Robson and Fulham under Kevin Keegan.

"[18] After making a single appearance at the start of the 1999–2000 season, Earnshaw was loaned to Scottish side Greenock Morton in January 2000 by Burrows to gain experience and "toughen up", living above a local pub.

[19] Earnshaw later admitted that the experience at Morton helped him, commenting "It made me realise that I needed to work hard at my game so I could show Cardiff City that I could become a good player.

[14] The following season proved to be a breakout year for Earnshaw as he established himself in the first team, scoring 25 goals in all competitions including hat-tricks in a league match against Torquay United and a third round FA Cup tie against Bristol Rovers.

[25] Following the club's promotion, Earnshaw continued his form and scored over 30 goals during his first season in the First Division, including a four-goal haul during a 5–0 victory over Gillingham and a hat-trick against Leyton Orient in the League Cup.

[27] Cardiff chairman Sam Hammam had strongly resisted any potential approaches for Earnshaw and at one point claimed that "They would hang me in the city centre" if he was sold.

[15] Although goals such as these helped the club retain their Premiership status, manager Bryan Robson preferred to use him from the bench as an impact player rather than as a starter.

[35] He remained in the squad for 2005–06, although West Brom signed several additional forwards including Diomansy Kamara and Nathan Ellington as competition for places became more significant.

[42] The following season, he enjoyed a prolific start to the campaign, including braces against Barnsley, Southend United and Wolverhampton Wanderers,[44] and, by January 2007, Earnshaw was the top-goalscorer in the division with 17 goals.

[63] Earnshaw scored Forest's only goal in the 3–1 loss to Swansea City in the away leg of their play off semi final, also hitting the post in the dying minutes of the game, which would have levelled the scoreline at 2–2.

[65][citation needed] On 6 July 2011, Earnshaw rejoined boyhood club Cardiff City on a free transfer,[66] following unsuccessful talks with Nottingham Forest regarding contract renewal.

Earnshaw would become new Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay's fourth free transfer signing since joining the Bluebirds from Watford.

[68] A change of the system at Cardiff [clarification needed] and an off form Earnshaw saw him dropped to the bench to make way for Kenny Miller in a single man attack.

[citation needed] On 20 September, after dropping down the pecking order at Cardiff, Earnshaw moved to Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv on a season-long loan, and was given the number 19 shirt.

Earnshaw spent part of the 2012 Israel-Gaza conflict in Tel Aviv, during which he expressed his shock at the city coming under rocket fire, saying: "I looked over at these guys who had many years' service in the army.

[71] On returning to Cardiff, manager Malky Mackay deemed Earnshaw surplus to requirements in January 2013, announcing that he would leave the club.

[72] On 28 February 2013, Earnshaw confirmed he had left Cardiff City to join Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC.

[76] He made a single appearance for the club, coming on as a substitute in place of Elliot Grandin during a 1–0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 25 March 2014,[77] before being released at the end of his contract.

[82] Earnshaw made an immediate impact as a late substitute in his Whitecaps debut against the Portland Timbers three days later by scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute on his first touch of the ball.

"[10] Bobby Gould, who managed Wales until 1999, stated that he convinced Earnshaw to switch allegiance, helping him overcome concerns over potential playing time.

[91] Because of racism directed to Earnshaw and others, from a Euro 2004 qualifying match, Serbia were handed a fine as a result of the abuse towards the Welsh football players.