Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Matthew James Potter [1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 23 January 1970||
Place of birth | Mere, England | ||
Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
Watford | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Watford | |||
International career | |||
England U19 | |||
Managerial career | |||
1995–2003 | Sereno Soccer Club | ||
2002–2003 | Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes | ||
2003 | Washington State Cougars (assistant) | ||
2003–2011 | Washington State Cougars | ||
2011–2019 | Oklahoma Sooners | ||
2020–2022 | United States U23 | ||
2022–2023 | Kansas City Current | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Matthew James Potter (born 23 January 1970) is an English former footballer and current technical director and interim sporting director of Bay FC in the National Women's Soccer League.
From age 14 to 19 Potter was at Watford, where he played professionally as a central midfielder. He also played for the England under-19 national team. While at Brunel University London, he helped lead the team to a national college title in 1991. [2]
In 1992, Potter moved to Long Island and joined Noga Soccer, where he coached, developed a curriculum and coordinated clinics and camps. [3] From 1995 to 2003, he worked as a head coach and trainer at Sereno Soccer Club in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1998 he also worked on the coaching staff for the Regional IV (West) of the United States Youth Soccer Association Olympic Development Program. He was the head coach of the Scottsdale Community College women's team for one season in 2002, leading them to the ACCAC play-offs with a winning record.
As of 2022 [update] , Potter held a USSF Pro, USSF Talent Scout, USSF "A" and United Soccer Coaches Premier licenses. [4]
In February 2003, Potter was named as the assistant coach for the Washington State Cougars women's team. However, prior to the start of the season, he was promoted to head coach in July 2003, taking over from Dan Tobias who left for the Arizona Wildcats. He coached the team for nine seasons, including three seasons with an appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship (2008, 2009 and 2011). In December 2011, Potter became the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners women's program, where he remained for eight seasons. Twice the team qualified for the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, in 2014 and 2016. [5] In November 2019, it was announced that Potter would leave Oklahoma at the end of the season. [6]
In January 2020, the United States Soccer Federation hired Potter as the head coach of the under-23 women's national team. He previously had served as an opponent scout for the U.S. women's program, including at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. [7]
On 11 January 2022, Potter was announced as the head coach of Kansas City Current in the National Women's Soccer League. [8] The 2022 Current went unbeaten for 13 consecutive matches during the season, finished with a 10–6–6 record, and reached the NWSL Playoffs finals before losing to Portland Thorns FC in the championship match. Potter was a finalist for the league's coach of the year award. [9]
On 19 April 2023, Kansas City fired Potter, citing in a statement "issues around his leadership and employment responsibilities". The firing occurred three matches into the season, all losses, and occurred hours before the Current were to play Houston Dash in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup. [9]
On December 12, 2023, Potter was announced as Technical Director of expansion side Bay FC in the NWSL. [10] After the resignation of Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton, Potter took on the interim role of sporting director. [11]
Potter is a native of Mere, and graduated from West London College of Brunel University London in 1992 with an honors degree in physical education and religious, social and moral education. He is married to Olga and has one daughter and three stepdaughters. [2]
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic, and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Federation also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and the SheBelieves Cup.
Gavin Wilkinson is a former New Zealand footballer who served as general manager and President of Soccer for the Portland Timbers from 2009 to 2022.
Lucas Rodríguez is an Argentine former professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach with the Kansas City Current in the National Women's Soccer League.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis.
Laura Kate Harvey is an English football manager and former player who currently manages Seattle Reign FC of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She holds USSF "A" and UEFA "A" coaching licenses.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. As of 2024, the league comprises 14 teams; a 15th team is planned to join in 2026. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation.
Seattle Reign FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign are owned by the private equity firm the Carlyle Group and Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC.
Vlatko Andonovski is a Macedonian-American association football manager and former player who is the head coach and sporting director of the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League. He was the head coach of the United States women's national team from 2019 to 2023.
The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.
The Utah Royals are an American professional women's soccer team based in Salt Lake City, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, the Royals played their first stint in the NWSL from 2018 until ceasing operations in 2020, with their player-related assets transferred to the expansion Kansas City Current. In 2023, Real Salt Lake owners Ryan Smith and David Blitzer reestablished the team.
The Kansas City Current are an American professional women's soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an expansion team in 2021. The team plays its home games at CPKC Stadium.
Huw John Williams is a Welsh football coach and former player who was previously the head coach of Kansas City NWSL in the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) for their inaugural season.
The 2022 National Women's Soccer League season was the tenth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 16th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. Twelve teams competed in the league, including two expansion teams, San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC.
The 2022 Orlando Pride season was Orlando Pride's seventh season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.
The 2022 Houston Dash season was the team's ninth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League.
The 2022 Kansas City Current season was the team's second season as a professional women's soccer team. The Current plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. The team was previously known as Kansas City NWSL.
The 2023 National Women's Soccer League season was the eleventh season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 17th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. Twelve teams compete in the league.
The 2023 Kansas City Current season was the team's third season as a professional soccer team. The Current played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.
Bay Football Club is an American professional women's soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 season. Their home stadium is PayPal Park in San Jose, California, a soccer-specific stadium with 18,000 seats that is also home to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer (MLS).
The 2024 Utah Royals season marks the team's fourth season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of the American soccer pyramid. This season marks the team's first since 2020, after which the original club relocated to become the Kansas City Current. The club plays its home games at America First Field in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy. The club's head coach is Jimmy Coenraets, who served as interim head coach following the firing of former Royal and national team player Amy Rodriguez and was named the permanent head coach on october 24.