Matt Pilkington (born 27 June 1979) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager, who is head coach for New York City FC II in

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

Playing career

Born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, England, Pilkington was part of the academy of Rochdale F.C. as a child. Pilkington studied in the US, featuring for the collegiate teams for

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. After graduation he signed for the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

, then competing in the second tier of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

but shortly to transfer to the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

Managerial career

Before beginning his playing career Pilkington began his transition to coaching, receiving an English FA coaching licence in 1998. In 2005, Pilkington joined the DC United academy set-up, remaining as part of the coaching staff until 2008. Several years later he would return to coaching, joining Bethesda-Olney in the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league featured youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

. In 2014 he transferred to local

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youth team Downtown United SC, for whom he would act as academy technical director across age groups from under-12 to under-18. Through Downtown United's connection to new

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

he would earn a move to NYCFC's nascent academy structure, starting as u-15/u-16 head coach and working his way up to u-19 head coach. On 9 February 2022, he was appointed as the first ever head coach of New York City FC II, NYCFC's development team playing in the newly formed

Managerial statistics

All competitive games (league, domestic and continental cups) are included.

Honours

; New York City FC u-16 *

Generation Adidas Cup The Generation Adidas Cup (previously known as the SUM U-17 Cup) is a competition run by Major League Soccer for all U-17 MLS academy teams. As part of the Homegrown Initiative, the Generation Adidas Cup focused on player development while provid ...

Premier Division Champions: 2017 ; New York City FC u-19 * USSDA Championship: 2018, 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkington, Matt 1979 births Living people English football managers Sportspeople from Rochdale New York City FC non-playing staff New York City FC II coaches English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Richmond Kickers players D.C. United non-playing staff English expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States George Washington Revolutionaries men's soccer players English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders