GARY IRELAND

Liverpool born, Australian resident of California Gary has been at the forefront of the global soccer industry for more than 25 years as highly respected technical trainer, clinician, guest speaker, thought leader, author and investor in player development. He has held numerous advisory positions in start up technology companies and was recognized by 'Advance', the global business network spanning 40 countries with one million Australians abroad, as being one of the ‘Advance 50’ current and emerging leaders honored at the Silicon Valley Summit in May 2012 for their contributions to the commercialization of Australian innovation dedicated to assisting Australian innovators, entrepreneurs and start-ups to commercialize and globalize. Along with Carine Ireland, Gary funded and designed Pass2me (sponsor of San Diego Surf Cup) as well as the worlds first football social media and global football networking platform Soccerbook.com. 

 

He was commended by FIFA for his efforts on behalf of youth soccer and had received testimonials from some of the worlds most respected people in the football industry (See here) . Gary's work has taken him around the globe settling in Australia and New Zealand with is father and brothers before setting out to establish himself as a player and coach. As a player Gary and his brother Simon Ireland  became the first players in New Zealand to play US college soccer (See story). Gary trained with the first team squads at Nice, Sparta Prague, Chelsea, QPR. In England he also played briefly for Kingstonian and Walton & Hersham. In the USA he was recruited to leading college Boca Raton after being recommended by USA star Roy Wegerle. As a youngster he also played for Brisbane Lions and trained with St George Budapest under coaching icon Frank Arok and Christchurch United Reserves in New Zealand. He represented the Queensland State Men's team vs Fiji and was selected to play for Queensland in the Super 6 Series vs. Manchester City, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest Premier League clubs after making the news as the brightest talent in the state receiving the highest player match performance ratings. (See story). In the USA Gary was recruited by San Francisco Bay Blackhawks and played for US Open Cup Champions San Jose Oaks.



 

He was technical coach/trainer at Liverpool FC Academy and the first ever ‘foreign’ coach at Liverpool FC Academy and the first Australian or New Zealander to coach at a Premier League club Academy. He is a former assistant to Wiel Coerver and Michel Mommertz at Al Wasl in UAE, one of only 5 assistants who worked alongside Wiel Coerver. (Learn More about Gary's work with Wiel and Michel here). Gary became a south after master demonstrator and After Hubert Vogelsinger learned of Gary's role as assistant to Wiel Coerver he made Gary the lead demonstrator for his globally renowned Vogelsinger Soccer Camps in 1989 and 2005. 
(Learn more). 

 

Gary has presented coach education and player development clinics and was the first to introduce the work of Wiel Coerver to Australia presenting the first event Wiel Coerver demonstration as guest of New South Wales Soccer Federation Director of Coaching David Lee, the Queensland Soccer Association and New Zealand Football Federation hosted by Terry Conley. (Learn more)

 



Gary has presented numerous coach education and player development clinics including multiple player and coaching clinics with with former Manager of Liverpool FC Academy Assistant Director and Manager John Owens on his globally renowned Principles of Play/Decision Making (Learn More about Garys work with John) as well as women's coaching legend, Australian Women's National Team coach Tom Sermanni on multiple occasions where he produced and featured in numerous webinars with John Owens, Tom Sermanni, Australian coaching icon Ron Smith and legendary UNC and USA women's coach Anson Dorrance amongst others (Learn more).

 

 

During the Czech Republic's successful EUROS '96 run,Gary was Assistant Scout to Prof. Zdenek Sivek then Technical Director of Czech Football Association and current Chairman of Editorial Board of 'Fotball A Trenink', (official magazine of Union of Czech Football Coaches) and Vice President of Union of European Football Coaches (AEFCA). Gary is a frequent guest of leading Hungarian club Puskas Academy training boys and girls Academy players and providing coach education support. (Learn More here & here)

He has contributed frequently to Norcal Premier Youth Soccer League Coach Education bringing Liverpool FC Academy Manager to present, and appeared as demonstrator with Porto and Red Bull coach Pepijn Linders. He demonstrated/led sessions for ACF Fiorentina and hosted Ajax Amsterdam Academy Director for Norcal. Gary has hired and trained coaches from numerous professional clubs and federations worldwide and has operated his own football employment service for over 25 years. Coaches from Wimbledon, MTK Budapest, Puskas Academy, Olympic Lyonnais, Corinthians, Celtic, Spartak Moscow, Czech FA, Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC.
 have worked for and with Gary.

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He co-owns Silicon Valley based (SBC) Soccerbook Consulting, advising global investors in technical, commercial and financial aspects of the football industry. SBC provides strategic advice on product and service marketing and distribution, raising capital, creation of for and non profit/charity entities and player recruiting and development strategies for clubs, leagues and products. He co-owns San Francisco Bay Area player training/player experience company Dynamic Soccer and Southern California player training/global team tour/player experience company Eclipse Academy.

 Gary founded, operated and consulted for various youth clubs and trained/advised/represented numerous players to US colleges, National and Professional teams. (See testimonials). He has been a scout for over 30 years and along with Carine Ireland he created one of the most robust player evaluation platforms which has been integrated into Invictus scouting and player assessments. (Learn more)

 

Gary was instrumental training and placing players to over 50 US College and continues to prepare players to compete and study in US colleges. For 2 years he sponsored San Diego Surf Cup, the largest and most prestigious US youth soccer tournament and has owned/operated several college recruiting combines. (read about Gary's US college soccer expertise)



 

Gary has arranged games against: 

Liverpool (girls); Manchester Utd. (girls); Everton (girls); Chelsea (boys & girls Academy); Tottenham Hotspurs (boys & girls Academy); QPR (girls); Blackburn Rovers (girls); Crystal Palace (girls); Manchester City (girls); Wolves (girls); Leeds Utd. (girls); MTK Budapest (boys); F.C Blsany (boys); Slavia Prague (boys); Admira Wacker (boys) & US Open Cup Champions San Jose Oaks vs Austrian Bundesliga team Admira Wacker (Mens)

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He has arranged numerous player training experiences and trials for players at: 

Chmel Blsany (MensTeam & Boys Academy), Slavia Prague (Men 1st Team), Sparta Prague (Men 1st Team)(Men/Boys Academy); Admira Wacker (Boys Academy); Linz (Men/Boys Academy); Melbourne Victory (Women 1st Team); St George Budapest (Men 1st Team); Gold Coast Rep (Men 1st Team); Liverpool FC (Women 1st Team), Tottenham Hotspurs FC (Girls Academy); Chelsea F.C (Girls & Boys Academy & Men Reserves); Southampton (Boys Academy & Reserves); Everton (Women 1st Team & U21); Arsenal (Women U21); Liverpool (Women U21); Tottenham Hotspurs (Women 1st Team & U21); Orlando Pride (Women); Manchester Utd (Girls Academy); Crystal Palace (Men 1st Team); Wimbledon (Men/Boys Academy), Glasgow Rangers (Men 1st Team); Queens Park Rangers (Men 1st Team); Hearts (Men 1st Team); Dunfermline (Men 1st Team); F.C Barcelona (Boys Academy); Nice (Men 1st Team); Kingstonian (Men 1st Team);  Walton & Hersham (Men 1st Team); Marine FC (Men 1st Team); Brisbane Lions, MTK Budapest (Mens 1st Team); Israel, Mexico, USA youth national teams. 

 

He has helped players study abroad. (Read here) 

and has created and managed bespoke tours including setting up games for: North Carolina Women v New Zealand Women's National Team; North Carolina Women v Australian Women's National Team (AIS); North; Carolina Women v Queensland Women's State Team (QIS); Czech Women's National Team; New Zealand U17 National Boys team v Tottenham Hotspurs FC Academy (boys); Admira Wacker v San Jose Oaks (men's); New Zealand U17 National Boys team v Chelsea FC Academy (boys), (See link). Conceptualized  promoted and partnered with J-League team Hiroshima San Frecce, Japanese Travel Bureau (JTB) and FIFA for Japanese youth players to attend a soccer camp and English language lessons in the USA during the 1994 World Cup. (Learn More)



Gary has contributed significantly to the growth of women's football in the USA, creating and operated highly regarded California girls youth soccer club PSV Union FC  with his wife Carine Ireland-Wong for 22 years, and providing over US$2.5mil. in financial aid for local in-need youth players since 1996. In 2005 he created, funded and coached/managed along with Carine a WPSL Women's professional club “Union FC”, making the national club tournament Las Vegas Silver Mug Final in the first few months of operation. 



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He was founding partner of Soccer Innovation Partners  with women's soccer legend Anson Dorrance, a soccer think tank and investment vehicle specializing in global women's soccer development, exploring international professional player combines, small sided game formats, and is in ongoing soccer facility investment and development in North Carolina.

 



Gary established football charity organization 'The Soccer Fund' with wife Carine Ireland' and has dedicated extensive time to supporting various global charity organizations. As former USA Head of Soccer and served on US Strategic Advisory Committee for former Chelsea FC and current Liverpool FC Global Charity Right To Play, raised substantial donor funding, presented a health awareness educational event through a football clinic at UCLA with Chelsea FC players Malouda and Essien, produced and funded in game marketing assets including the first ever Right to Play banner, provided half-time competition, pre-game mascots, flag bearers and ball persons and provided over 30 VIP tickets for major donors for the Chelsea FC v Club America at Stanford Stadium. (Read about Gary's involvement with Right to Play here). He provided activation (half time show) for USA vs USSR and arranged for England World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore to present the ‘Man of Match’ Award. Pele visited Gary at his academy in Silicon Valley to film a preview for his Studio Pele TV show before the 1994 FIFA World Cup 1/4 Final Brazil vs USA. Gary and his family through Academy Soccer backed by Blackman & Flynn, investors in Wolfgang Puck, along with Chevron became the first sponsor of the FIFA 1994 San Francisco Bay Area (Stanford venue) Organizing Committee. 



Among other things he has managed advertising boards at  the Stanford 1994 FIFA World Cup stadium venue and Brazil Venue Training Site at Santa Clara for ISL/FIFA; staffed a Nestle-Milo sponsored activation youth soccer camp in Indonesia; awarded the ‘Key To The City’ of Palo Alto for providing the “Nutmeg” Mascot for Women's World Cup activation event with Palo Alto Mayor; hired the San Francisco 49er's Cheerleading team for the Austrian Bundesliga season kick off; HRM Crown Prince of Brunei came to Gary asking for 3 of his international players; supported Craig Johnston on his USA SupaSkills pilot project; Gary is a prolific writer conducting numerous articles and interviews on player development with some of the games leading figures. (Learn More)

 

Gary is a regular guest presenter and speaker at youth football clubs on college recruiting, player development symposiums, such as Puskas Academy for Hungarian professional Football Academies and 'Carpathian Basin Academy System Coaching & Technical Directors in 2022 and again at the Puskas Suzuki Cup in 2024 and as guest speaker at the University of Liverpool Football Industries MBA (FIMBA). He has created and presented at numerous workshops for players, parents and coaches at leading US youth soccer clubs and produced/presented frequent webinars of player technical development and investment strategies in the global game.

Gary holds an MBA in Football Industries from the University of Liverpool with a dissertation on “Creating and Exploiting Revenue Streams at The Academy-Liverpool Football Club: Comparing and Contrasting Youth Academies of Liverpool FC, Inter Milan & Chicago Fire”. 

 

Gary has extensive experience in football film, adverts and documentary promotion and production and keeps a personal football film blog as a hobby (Visit page here). He presented the first ever viewing for a youth football club in the USA of 'ZIDANE: A 21st CENTURY PORTRAIT' and invited Eusebio, Michael Caine, Bobby Moore and Pele to California to celebrate the “Escape to Victory” film in 1990. after his long time friend Jack Kendrick (Stallone's double in Escape to Victory) introduced them. He owns one of the few Escape to Victory film posters given to him from MTK Budapest on a visit in 2005.

 Gary also assisted legendary Australian footballing icon Craig Johnston in finding a writer/director for his life documentary and has appeared with Pele on Studio Pele 1994 World Cup series as well as appearing with Martin Tyler as guest of Australian football icons Les Murray and Johnny Warren providing a preview for the Czech Republic v Germany EURO 1996 Final. He also featured in Australian Croatian coach Dusan Purac coaching video featuring legends Boban, Savicevic and Pancev. (Learn more). He also Produced/Directed a weekly Cable TV Soccer Show in Palo Alto, California and has produced many promotional videos for multiple clients. He also facilitated broadcast rights and acquisition of video rights of best selling Coerver 1-2-3 coaching videos from Philips Lighting Company to SBSTV as well as editing content the most popular daily soccer show in Australia 'The World Game' for Host 'Less Murray. for

 

Favorite Players: Platini, Zidane, Savicevic, Stojkovic, Schuster, Maldini, Hoddle, Gerrard, Van Basten, Bergkamp, Waddle, Keegan, Keane, Elkjaer, M. Laudrup, Ronaldo Nazario, Scholes, Ronaldinho, Akers.
Favorite Teams: Brazil ’82; France ’84-'85; Denmark ’86; Liverpool ’80-’86; Juventus ‘86; AC Milan ’94; AC Milan ’88-’90

Learn more about Gary here

Email garyjamesireland@gmail.com
Call (650) 387 4128
Connect on Linkedin