Matt Weston (born 5 November 1975) is an English football coach/manager. He was the former head coach of

FC New York F.C. New York was an American professional soccer team based first in Queens, New York City, and then Long Island, New York. The team played two seasons, starting in 2011 in the National Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier ...

and VSI Tampa Bay FC in the

USL Professional League The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

and technical director of Premier Development League team

Ocala Stampede Ocala Stampede was an American soccer club based in Ocala, Florida that played in the Premier Development League, the fourth division of the American soccer pyramid. History Ocala Stampede was granted a franchise in the PDL on December 28, 2011 ...

. He is now head coach of the

Dayton Dutch Lions The Dayton Dutch Lions are an American soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the USL Professiona ...

of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

Playing career

Weston began his career in the youth academy of

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, where he played for four years without making it into the first-team squad. Weston was a member of the club's 'School Of Excellence' which boasted some of the country's finest talent (

Fergie's Fledglings Fergie's Fledglings were a group of football players recruited by Manchester United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson (often nicknamed "Fergie") and trained by assistant coaches Brian Kidd and Eric Harrison, before eventually progress ...

). Weston moved to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

in 1990, where he played for five years in the youth and reserve teams, including a 5-month loan stint with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

. He had later stints with semi-pro clubs

Leigh RMI Leigh Genesis Football Club, formerly known as Horwich RMI (Railway Mechanics Institute) and Leigh RMI, is an English amateur association football club that currently plays in the South Lancashire Counties Football League. The semi-professional ...

and

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home m ...

. His

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother Kenny was also on Ipswich's books without breaking through to the first team and also moved on to coaching abroad, in his case in Australia. Upon arriving in the United States in 2006, Weston became a player development officer for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, 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 sanc ...

. He then moved on to work as the assistant coach at the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...

in 2008 before setting up his own business, Weston Pro Soccer. He also runs a soccer scholarship recruitment business called Weston Pro Scholarship Specialists. He is the former coaching director for CFC (Connecticut Football Club) and was the head coach of CFC's Elite Women's College Showcase Team, as well as the head coach at

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by G ...

and has also set up a Premier Soccer Program in Connecticut. Weston's first foray into professional coaching was with

club

F.C. New York F.C. New York was an American professional soccer team based first in Queens, New York City, and then Long Island, New York. The team played two seasons, starting in 2011 in the National Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier ...

in 2010. He resigned in May 2011 – a year after he began with his assistant coach former Arsenal striker Paul Shaw taking over as interim head coach. In March 2012 Weston was announced as technical director/head coach for

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

club

. The Florida-based PDL club won the South East conference in the club's inaugural season, qualifying for the US Open Cup in 2013. They were eventually defeated in the Southern Conference semi-final by Austin Aztec. Weston was then headhunted by VSI, being named as head coach of new

franchise VSI Tampa Bay FC on 21 November 2012. Weston took the new franchise to the top of the USL Pro standings in late April but departed the club shortly after. VSI Tampa Bay FC failed to make the USL Pro playoffs in 2013. Weston rejoined Ocala Stampede of the Premier Development League as the club's Technical Director in 2014. He helped lead Ocala to the

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will feature ...

National Semifinals. He was hired as head coach of the

on 7 August 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Matt Living people English identical twins English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English football managers English expatriate football managers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders English twins English men's footballers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States 1975 births Manchester United F.C. players Footballers from Salford Stockport County F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players English football coaches Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff