An excited crowd gathered at Joe Davis Stadium on Wednesday as Huntsville City Football Club (FCFC) announced that Jack Collison would be named as the first ever head coach for the club.

The former Premier League player from West Ham United was introduced at Joe Davis Stadium where the club will play its home games for the upcoming season.

Collison joins HCFC after two seasons coaching Atlanta United FC 2. Before coaching Atlanta 2, Collison helped develop young talent as the head coach of the club’s U-17 Academy team.

Collison began his coaching career in 2015 with Peterborough’s Academy in Peterborough, UK. In 2017, he returned to his playing club, West Ham United, where he coached the U-14, U-16 and U-18 squads through 2019.

In total, he has managed over 130 matches in his young career from the U-18 level to the USL Championship. In his coaching tenure with the Atlanta United Academy, Collison’s teams amassed a 12W-0D-5L record with a plus 34 goal differential from 2019-21.

Former West Ham United player and Atlanta United 2 coach Jack Collison tapped as HCFC’s first head coach

“I am very excited at the prospect of bringing soccer to Rocket City and building a team that really represents the community,” said Collison. “I will look to build an exciting, fast paced brand of soccer that can bring success on the pitch in Huntsville, whilst helping to develop some of the future stars for Nashville SC. My staff and I are currently hard at work to achieve these goals and can’t wait to see everyone packed inside the Joe Davis stadium supporting a team we can ALL be proud of.” 

Before coaching in Atlanta, Collison enjoyed a prolific playing career, totaling 121 appearances for West Ham United in the English Premier League and also making the national squad for Wales.

After hanging up his cleats for good in 2016, he started his coaching career at West Ham United where he served as manager for the U-16 squad for two years.

When asked about the differences in managing in the UK and the United States, Collison remarked that the reputation of his playing career doesn’t translate as much in the states as it does internationally.

“Over in the UK with my playing background, I was accepted right away. Playing in the Premier League and playing with Wales carries a lot of weight there. When I first moved to Atlanta to coach there, it was almost like having to earn my stripes again because I wasn’t well known. The only way to do that was being a quality coach day in and day out. Over the years, it’s all morphed me to the point where I am now, ready to take on this incredible project.”

Mike Jacobs, General Manager of HCFC and Nashville SC, commented on his excitement regarding Collison’s hiring.

“When we looked at a profile of what we thought the leader of Huntsville City FC looked like, very quickly it became evident that Jack was the ideal candidate,” said Jacobs.

“His ability to help develop future first team players for Nashville SC will be a critical asset in our pro player pathway. We are very excited about Jack’s addition, and know that he will play a key role in both growing players for NSC while also managing a very competitive team on the field in Huntsville.”

Collison and HCFC will make their debut together when the inaugural season starts in spring of 2023. Season Ticket Memberships are now available by following the link here.