Gary White (football)

Gary White

Personal information
Full name	Gary John White[1]
Date of birth	(1974-07-25) 25 July 1974
Place of birth	Southampton, England
Youth career
1986–1990	Southampton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1994	Bognor Regis Town	28	(8)
1994–1996	Fremantle City	45	(13)
Total		73	(21)
Teams managed
1998–1999	British Virgin Islands
1999–2008	Bahamas
2012–2016	Guam
2016	Shanghai Shenxin
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Gary John White (born 1974) is an English International football manager who is currently the head coach of Shanghai Shenxin in the China League One. He has been hand selected as one of 16 coaches to be on a two-year elite coaching development licence programme (The FA Level 5 Pro Licence) above the UEFA A licence run by the FA in an attempt to boost the number of English Premier League coaches beyond the current amount of six.^[2]

White is the former technical director of Washington Youth Soccer and the Seattle Sounders FC elite player development program. He was previously head coach of the national teams of the British Virgin Islands and Bahamas. He also served on both the coaching staff of the United States men's national team and the US Soccer player development task force. White signed a three-year endorsement contract with Lacoste in May 2012 and was named the company's Asian Pacific ambassador. White serves as a member of the EAFF technical study group (TSG) for FIFA international competitions with his most recent inclusion to analyse the 2013 East Asian Football Championships that include the men's national teams of Australia, Japan, China & South Korea.

Early life

White was born in Southampton, England,^[3] and had a successful youth playing career and was selected for both the Southampton City and Hampshire County representative teams and was a future prospect for the Southampton Football Club.^[4]

Playing career

White signed for Fremantle City Soccer Club in the Western Australia State League in 1994, where he played two seasons for the club. Prior to signing for the Australian professional outfit, White played for Bognor Regis Town.

Managerial career

British Virgin Islands

White was the national technical director and national team head coach for the British Virgin Islands, where he had success during the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification which resulted in the national team shooting up the FIFA World Rankings at 28 places. White is still one of the youngest ever national team coach when he took his role at 24, and was also one of the youngest ever coaches to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualification at 25.

Bahamas

White signed with the Bahamas in September 1999, where he was National Team Coach and Technical Director. During his tenure with the Bahamas, White moved the national team 55 places up the FIFA world ranking. Also as technical director White directed and oversaw all National Team programmes and National Staff Coaches in preparation for all FIFA and CONCACAF Competitions, including coaching education for the National coaches. White also designed and implemented a National Coaching Philosophy as part of the International Teams and Player Development Strategy.

White coached and managed more than 65 FIFA Certified International matches and also during his time as manager the Bahamas was FIFA's highest mover in 2006.

In 2009 he left for the Seattle Sounders elite player development program.

Washington State Soccer and Seattle Sounders FC (EPD) Technical Director

During his time in Seattle White lead the daily technical operations for the Sounders FC Elite Player Development Program and Washington States coaching education initiatives. During White's time in Seattle the Washington State / Sounders FC Elite Player Development Program became a powerhouse in the nation on and off the field and lead the country with their modern player & coaching development initiatives which, in the end, forced US Youth Soccers ODP (Olympic Development Program) to modernise and become more elite. During White's tenure the Washington State / Sounders FC EPD program won eight US Youth Soccer Championships in two years, these were the first championships that Washington had won in over 15 barren years and made the program California South's biggest rival in the country. White was named in the US Soccer Task Force for National player Development along with such names as Mia Hamm and Claudio Reyna.

Guam

On 1 February 2012, White was appointed as head coach of Guam and also serves as the federation's technical director.

Guam finished third during the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification and they completed their group with a resounding 3–0 victory over Chinese Taipei for the first time in history. During November 2013's FIFA international games schedule Guam beat Cambodia 2–0 and drew 1-1 with Laos. Both these International fixtures were played away at the opponents' home national stadiums. The 'Matao' are now unbeaten in three international games and now sit at 161 on the official FIFA world rankings. Since White took over in February 2012 Guam has moved up from 195th to their current FIFA ranking which is their highest placement to date.^[5]

Due to the success of the Matao FIFA Futbol Mundial (April 2013 episode #137) and various other world media have featured White and the progress of the Guam national football team.

Shanghai Shenxin

On 30 May 2016, White was appointed as head coach of Shanghai Shenxin in the China League One, with the side facing a relegation battle.^[6] After a slow start, White successfully guided them to safety and a 10th-place finish.

References