CALGARY, AB – Foothills Soccer Club has brought new international coaching talent to Calgary with the addition of Marc McLaren as our Boys Academy Manager, replacing Mauro Eustaquio. McLaren is from Birmingham in the United Kingdom and was educated at the University of Worcester and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours. He is now a UEFA B member, with his 1, 2 & 3 youth licenses and is a candidate for his UEFA A. Foothills Soccer Technical Director Jonathan Wheeldon said;

“We are excited to have Marc join our club. His extensive experience within Premier league academies is a valuable asset to the team. Marc has incredible hunger to succeed, a fantastic work ethic but most of all plenty of value that he will add through his numerous years coaching in the game developing players throughout many levels. We welcome Marc to the team and cannot wait to get him on field with the Boys.”

McLaren has past experience coaching as a Foundation Phase coach with West Bromwich Albion an English Championship team, as well as Foundation Phase Lead with Wolverhampton Wanderers an English Premiere league team. He was then selected as the University of Wolverhampton Performance Coach. McLaren has also won a series of awards

including the FA Advanced Youth Award (October 2020) and the Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme Graduate (October 2018). He was also awarded a Sports Development and Coaching BA with Honours (June 2016) and his Sports Coaching HND (June 2015). Marc is excited to join the Foothills soccer staff and said;

“After nearly a decade of coaching at the top level of youth academy football in England at WBA and Wolverhampton Wanderers, it has always been an ambition of mine to experience a new culture to live and develop my craft as a professional football coach.

I’ve been blown away with what I have seen and experienced on and off the field during my visit to Calgary earlier in the year and have no doubts that Calgary as a city and Foothills as a football club is somewhere I can see myself for many years to come.

Canada as a whole is a country on the rise within the football world with the recent successes of both the men and women and Foothills has a major role to play in this continued success. I am beyond excited to join such a wonderful club and project that share the same cultural values and visions I personally hold within football and I look forward to joining the Foothills family.

I hope to bring my own experiences in the game from Europe and help not only the players but my fellow coaches and staff to continue to develop and us all to aim to develop excellent players and outstanding people. I look forward to meeting you all. See you all soon.”