A big move from Sporting Jacksonville

Mark Warburton joins the club as Director of Soccer

Sporting Jacksonville is a hugely ambitious organization that continues to make waves before any of their teams actually take the pitch.

For what it is worth, rewinding a decade, Warburton is the manager I give credit to for the vision that Brentford implemented as they claimed the divisions and became one of the most innovative clubs in Europe when it came to scouting. He was able to secure promotion for the club and while they moved on from him to Dean Smith (who now coaches in MLS) after the 2014-15 season, he had made his mark.

Photo courtesy of Sporting Jax FC

Warburton is an elite visionary who really understands both scouting and integration of youth squads into a first team playing style. Perhaps it’s because I cover the EFL so closely for TalkSport but this to me is not only a home run hire, but a real statement of intent from USL in general about the sort of technical direction they intend to follow in their quest to create a new football pyramid in the US.

Warburton has a long resume, most recently managing QPR highly successfully. In fact, his sacking at the club led to the largest amount of fan discontent I’ve seen in Shepherd’s Bush ever and the club has yet to recover on the pitch from his dismissal.

Warburton brings extensive experience at the top levels of English and Scottish soccer, having in addition to QPR previously served as manager at current Premier League clubs Brentford FC and Nottingham Forest and legendary Scottish Premiership club Glasgow Rangers.

Warburton will lead all technical aspects of Sporting JAX’s USL professional and pre-professional soccer teams, including the women’s USL Super League and men’s USL Championship teams, along with the club’s USL W League and USL League Two teams. Additionally, he will spearhead the development of a new professional soccer academy as part of Sporting JAX Soccer Academy, bringing elite-level coaching and greater access to development opportunities for young players across Northeast Florida.

Per the club in this role Warburton,

• Will lead all technical aspects of Sporting JAX’s USL professional and pre-professional soccer teams, including the women’s USL Super League and men’s USL Championship teams, along with the club’s USL W League and USL League Two teams.

• One of Warburton’s immediate priorities will be collaborating with Sporting JAX technical consultant, Becky Burleigh, to recruit top-tier coaching and technical staff for Sporting JAX’S historic USL Super League pro women’s team, which kicks off its inaugural season at UNF’s Hodges Stadium in August.

• He will also oversee the development of coaching and technical staff for the USL Championship men’s pro team and work closely with partners at Florida Elite Soccer Academy (future Sporting JAX Soccer Academy) to elevate its status as one of the largest and most successful youth soccer programs in the United States.

Sporting JAX will kick off with both their USL W League and USL League Two teams this summer as well as their USL Super League team in the fall. The USL Championship club kicks off next season.