FFA Announce New Coaching Appointments

Football Federation Australia (FFA) has announced Tony Vidmar as the Caltex Socceroos Assistant Coach, whilst Gary van Egmond has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Young Socceroos.

Caltex Socceroos Head Coach, Graham Arnold, said he was delighted to welcome both accomplished coaches to their respective roles.

“I have been fortunate enough to have worked with both Tony and Gary over the years and their experience and understanding of our game and the development pathways will be a significant advantage for our national teams.

“Tony joined us for the camp in South Korea and it was clear from the first day that he was a great fit,” Arnold said.

Meantime, Westfield Matildas Assistant Coach Gary van Egmond will move from his current role to take up the position as the Young Socceroos Head Coach.

The former Newcastle Jets championship-winning manager will assume the role immediately to start preparations for Australia’s 2020 AFC Under 19 Championship Qualifiers which will be held in Chinese Taipei in November.

FFA Head of National Teams, Luke Casserly, said having someone of van Egmond’s experience, who has coached at senior and junior levels, is a boost for our junior boys.

“When assessing candidates for the role, we wanted to appoint someone who had experience at international level with junior teams, someone who had experience in navigating a difficult qualification path across Asia and someone who had a strong understanding of our junior development programs and Gary ticks every box,” Casserly said.

Van Egmond will also play an important role in working with the newly-appointed FFA Technical Director Rob Sherman, who has commenced a review of junior football pathways in Australia.

The review will look at a broad range of areas including the competition framework for players aged 13–18 including a potential National Academy Championship and establishing a national scouting database for national teams.