Tanya Oxtoby
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Tanya Helen Oxtoby (born 15 June 1982) is an Australian
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
coach and former player, who is currently the manager of the Northern Ireland women's national team. A
centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
during her playing career, she signed for FA WSL club
Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an England, English women's association football, women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's admi ...
in February 2012, after four seasons playing for
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
in the Australian W-League. In July 2012, she agreed to manage Nottingham Forest Ladies, in addition to her playing duties with Doncaster. After finishing her playing career with Everton, she worked full-time as a coach with
Notts County Ladies Notts County Ladies Football Club was a women's football club based in Nottingham, England. They played their home games at Meadow Lane. Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln Ladies were relocated from Lincoln to Nottingham ...
, as their Development Team Manager. After returning home to Australia in 2015 to the club she captained, Oxtoby became the assistant coach for Perth Glory Women, helping guide the Glory to their only Premiers Plate, winning the league, as well as their first ever grand final appearance. During this period, she also set up Tanya Oxtoby Football Coaching, her own coaching and mentoring business for female footballers and coaches. She also spent 18 months working with the Australian under 20 team, as an assistant coach and video analyst. Following a successful stint back in Australia, Oxtoby was offered a role as Head Coach and Director of Development at Notts County Ladies in early 2016, a role coupled with first team assistant coach duties. Oxtoby became the Head of Women's Football and Futsal at the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
, to oversee the entire development pathway for Notts County Ladies. In 2016, Oxtoby was recruited by Birmingham City Ladies to become an assistant coach with the first team in the Women's Super League. From 2018 to 2021, she was the manager of
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
, and then served as an assistant coach with the
Scotland women's national football team The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...
and Chelsea.


Playing career

Born in
Wickham, Western Australia Wickham is a town located 1,572 km north of Perth, Western Australia, Perth and 13 km north of Roebourne, Western Australia, Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In 2016 Wickham had a population of 2,295 people. Aborigi ...
, Oxtoby began playing as an eight-year-old in the
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
town of Wickham, initially playing in a team coached by her father. Between 1995 and 1999, she attended the Soccer Excellence Program at
John Curtin College of the Arts John Curtin College of the Arts, originally John Curtin High School, is an independent, public co-educational, partially selective high school, located in East Street, , a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The school provides a general and ...
. In 1999, Oxtoby was selected for the Australian Under–19 Schoolgirls team but did not make the touring squad to England. In 2005, Oxtoby was appointed
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of the Western Waves in the Australian
Women's National Soccer League The Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) was Australia's top women's soccer league. Originally known as the Ansett Australia Summer Series for sponsorship reasons, the WNSL began in 1996 consisting of six clubs and continued through until 200 ...
. In 2008, she was appointed captain of
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
's women's team in the W-League. She was one of only a few players of Indigenous descent to play in the W-League, and the first indigenous player to captain her side. In February 2009, she was named best player for the Glory, winning the Most Glorious Women's Player award. Oxtoby collected the same award for her performances in the 2011 season. Overall, she played 40 matches for the Glory between 2008 and 2012. Oxtoby, who has dual English–Australian citizenship, joined Glory teammate
Katie Holtham Katie Ann Holtham (born 9 April 1986) is an English footballer who last played as a midfielder for Australian W-League club Perth Glory. Holtham's manager at former club Leeds Carnegie, Rick Passmoor, described her as: "strong, athletic and a ...
at
Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an England, English women's association football, women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's admi ...
for the 2012
FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
season.


Coaching career

In 2007, Oxtoby was appointed assistant coach of the
Football West Football West is the state governing body for soccer in Western Australia (WA). It is affiliated with Football Australia (FA), the sport's national governing body, and through FA's affiliation to FIFA. Football West's premier competition is the ...
National Training Centre. During 2008, she was appointed
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
women's Under-15 coach. In July 2012, Oxtoby was appointed manager and head coach of English
FA Women's Premier League Northern Division The FA Women's National League North is a football league at the third tier of women's football in England. Together with the National League South, the two leagues form the highest division of the National League. Established in 1991 as the WFA ...
club
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
, a role she combined with playing for Doncaster in the FA WSL. In August 2013, Oxtoby accepted a coaching role with the reserve team of WSL club
Notts County Ladies Notts County Ladies Football Club was a women's football club based in Nottingham, England. They played their home games at Meadow Lane. Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln Ladies were relocated from Lincoln to Nottingham ...
, before she returned to Australia. After returning home to Australia in 2014 to the club she captained, Oxtoby become the assistant coach for Perth Glory Women. She helped guide the Glory to the Premiers plate winning the league, and their first ever grand final appearance. During this period, she also set up Tanya Oxtoby Football Coaching, her own coaching and mentoring business for female footballers. She also spent 18 months working with the Australian under 20 team, as an assistant coach and video analyst. Following a successful stint with back in Australia, she then moved back to Notts County Ladies in early 2016 as their Director of Development and first team assistant coach, and become Head of Women's Football and Futsal at the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
. In 2017, Oxtoby was recruited by Birmingham City Ladies to become an assistant coach with a focus on out of possession with the first team in the Women's Super League. Oxtoby was then recruited at the Talent Identification and Transition Manager for English Colleges Women's National Team, a position she held for two years. She also served as lifestyle advisor for Team GB Goal Ball, a Paralympic sport. In July 2018,
Bristol City Women Bristol City Women's Football Club is a women's association football team from the city of Bristol. Formed in 1998 as Bristol Rovers W.F.C., they were renamed Bristol Academy W.F.C. in 2005 following the withdraw of support from Bristol Rovers ...
named Oxtoby its new manager. In her first season with Bristol City, she won two manager of the month awards and took them to a record breaking points tally finishing in 6th place in the Women's Super League, with the most notable results being draws against Chelsea and
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
. She managed to ensure Bristol's safety in the WSL in the following season, despite having the lowest budget of all the teams competing within the league, as well as a crippling injury list. She is renowned as an exceptional player developer, identifying young English talent and providing them the opportunity to excel within her provided environment and earn game time at the highest level. The likes of
Ebony Salmon Ebony Salmon (born 27 January 2001) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Women's Super League club Aston Villa W.F.C., Aston Villa, the England women's national fo ...
,
Poppy Pattinson Poppy Pattinson (born 30 April 2000) is an English professional Women's association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back for London City Lionesses of the Women's Super League. She has previous ...
, Katie Robinson and
Aimee Palmer Aimee Rose Palmer (born 25 July 2000) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Championship club Southampton. She has previously played for Manchester United, Sheffield United and Bristol City in the Championship, and has ...
are among some of the best young talent to come through under her supervision. In August 2021, she stepped down as manager following her maternity leave, and was succeeded by Lauren Smith. Following a short stint with the
Scotland women's national football team The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...
as an assistant coach, Oxtoby joined
Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
club Chelsea in the same role in September 2021. On 1 September 2023, Oxtoby was officially appointed as the new manager of the Northern Ireland women's national team, having signed a four-year contract with the
Irish FA The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...
.


Personal life

As well as being a UEFA A licence coach, Oxtoby also holds a Diploma in Football Management from the League Managers Association (LMA), and is a qualified sports psychologist. In December 2020, she announced that she was pregnant with a son with her partner Alice Kempski who plays for Cheltenham Town Ladies. She announced that she would be taking maternity leave with
Matt Beard Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool F.C. Women. He has previously managed West Ham, Chelsea, Boston Breakers, Millwall an ...
taking over coaching duties at Bristol City until the end of the season.


See also

* Foreign players in the FA WSL


References


External links


Tanya Oxtoby Football Coaching
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxtoby, Tanya 1982 births Living people Australian women's soccer players 21st-century Australian sportswomen Australian women psychologists 21st-century Australian psychologists Indigenous Australian soccer players Australian soccer managers Australian expatriate soccer managers People from Wickham, Western Australia Perth Glory FC (women) players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Bristol City W.F.C. managers Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate women's footballers in England People educated at John Curtin College of the Arts Women's Super League players Women's Super League managers Association football managers by women's national team Women's association football defenders Australian LGBTQ soccer players Sportswomen from Western Australia Soccer players from Western Australia Northern Ireland women's national football team Female association football managers