SPORTS
Utah Royals FC head coach leaves for U.S. Soccer
Jan 6, 2020, 10:56 AM | Updated: 1:13 pm
File photo of Utah Royals FC head coach Laura Harvey. The Royals announced Monday they will be mutually parting ways with Harvey, as she prepares to take on a new position with U.S. Soccer. The decision was mutual between Harvey and the team. (Silas Walker KSL)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Utah Royals FC announced Monday they will be parting ways with head coach Laura Harvey, as she prepares to take on a new position with U.S. Soccer. The decision was mutual between Harvey and the team.
Harvey will take up the position as head coach for the U.S. women’s national under-20 soccer team, preparing the team for the upcoming 2020 FIFA U-20 World Cup in August. The U.S. has won this tournament three times.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two years as the Head Coach of Utah Royals FC and working with all of the staff involved with the RSL family,” Harvey said in an official statement. “I’ve been wanting to get back into coaching international football, so I’m looking forward to the new challenge with the U-20 United States Youth National Team. We are looking to qualify immediately for the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup, so I will hit the ground running.”
Before coaching the Royals, Harvey has managed several soccer club teams including the Birmingham City Ladies, Arsenal LFC, Seattle Reign FC and spent some time serving as an assistant coach for England’s women’s ‘ U-17, U-19 and U-23 national teams.
Harvey joined the Royals before their first professional season in 2018, coaching the team to a 19-17-12 record. Royals owner Dell Loy Hansen said bringing Harvey in as a coach was exactly what the team needed.
“When we launched Utah Royals FC, we set out to make the club a destination for top talent around the world and there was no better way to do that than to bring in one of the top professional coaches,” Hansen said in a statement. “Laura brought instant credibility to Royals FC and it’s been a pleasure working with her. We wish her the best of luck with U.S. Soccer and look forward to seeing top young talent in the U.S. develop under her tutelage.”
The Royals are preparing for their third season in the National Women’s Soccer League. Assistant Coach Scott Parkinson will step in as interim head coach as the team conducts a formal search for Harvey’s replacement.
