Tigers FC has announced the appointment of Ian Worthington as its Youth Technical Director – a role which will bolster the club’s capabilities for boys and girls aged 10 years and up and supercharge the club’s success ahead of the 2025 football season.
As Tigers FC Youth Technical Director, Worthington will implement the club’s youth development program, overseeing boys and girls across all junior development squads, plus all four of the club’s NPL Boys teams. He will be directly involved in the training of the NPLB teams, all junior teams and players in the club on a regular basis and along with Ali Efe will mentor Tigers FC NPLB and development team coaches.
Worthington brings almost 30 years of experience to the position as a program manager, technical director and football coach, having worked in a football at professional and semi-professional organisations in England, USA and Australia.
With a dedication to football youth development, Worthington holds the prestigious UEFA A Licence in Football Coaching, which spans the Asia FA ‘A’ Licence and Football Australia ‘A’ Licence, and has a degree is Sports Science with Honours, plus a Postgraduate Certificate in Education.
Worthington’s coaching career has enabled several young players to turn professional and play internationally during his time with Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers and Burnley.
He was selected by the English Football Association as a coach mentor, helping coaches to learn, grow and develop their skills. This included being part of the panel to design and deliver the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) for the English Premier League and Football League Clubs.
Outside of the UK, Worthington was seconded to San Francisco to help with the planning and launch of the Academy at MLS Club San Jose Earthquakes.
Since moving to Canberra six years ago, he has led Radford College to grand finals and club championships; assisted the Monaro Panthers’ 1st Grade team in a treble winning year in 2022; been named Assistant Coach of the Canberra All Stars in 2022; and taken the ACT U15s to the Football Australia Nationals in 2024. In addition to this, Worthington has a huge passion for media and commentary, regularly reporting on NPL men’s and women’s games in the ACT.
His expertise and passion for youth development will be invaluable as we continue to nurture the next generation of talent at Tigers FC.
Worthington joins Tigers FC at the end of a highly successful 2024 National Premier League (NPL) season for the club, with five out of six NPL teams making the semi-finals after finishing in the top four teams on their respective NPLM and NPLB ladders.
Words: Maddie SInclair
