Gary Stempel (born 26 January 1957) is a Panamanian football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Career

Prior to his move to Panama, Stempel was a community outreach officer with London club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. He enjoyed his greatest success as at club level in a four-year spell as manager of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, a Panamanian football club, during which he won five

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

titles and two championships with Panama Viejo. It was during this time that he was also given charge of the Panama under-20 and under-23 teams. He qualified Panama to its first-ever U-20 World Cup in 2003. In 2007, he became manager of Salvadorian club Águila and in 2008 he was given the opportunity to take charge of the Panama national team. During his tenure as national team coach, Panama won the Central American Nations Cup in 2009. It was the first time Panama had won a major international championship. After this success, he led the team to the quarter-finals at the 2009 Gold Cup. Stempel has also been working as a FIFA coach instructor and has conducted courses for coaches in St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands,

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

and Suriname. From 2012-16, Gary Stempel was coach for the

football club located in

La Chorrera, Panama La Chorrera () is a city and municipality in central Panama, located about 30 km south-west of Panama City. Is the capital of the province of Panamá Oeste and one of the larger cities in the country and is fond of the phrase "La Bella, Enam ...

. After the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the current Panama manager,

Hernán Darío Gómez Hernán Darío Gómez Jaramillo (; born 3 February 1956), also known as El Bolillo (; ''The Baton''), is a Colombian former football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Career He was an active player from 1966 to 1 ...

, resigned. Stempel was subsequently named interim manager until Panama appoint their next full-time manager. That manager ended up being

Julio Dely Valdés Julio César Dely Valdés (born March 12, 1967) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a twin brother of Jorge Dely Valdés and younger brother of Armando Dely Valdés. Club career Born in Colón, Dely ...

. In October 2019, Gary Stempel was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to youth and sport in Panama.

Personal life

Stempel was born in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

to a Panamanian father, and English mother. He moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at the age of 6, and remained there for 34 years holding UK citizenship, before moving back to coach

. He has an English-born wife and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stempel, Gary 1957 births Living people Panamanian football managers English football managers Panamanian people of English descent English people of Panamanian descent San Francisco F.C. managers C.D. Águila managers Panama national football team managers Expatriate football managers in El Salvador Liga Panameña de Fútbol managers