Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced that Trevor Morgan has been appointed as the interim National Technical Director on 19 August 2020.
Morgan will be supported by new Technical Consultant Ron Smith and will continue to serve as Head Coach of the Joeys, Australia’s U-17 men’s national team until next year’s FIFA U17 World Cup.
FFA CEO James Johnson was delighted to make the announcement and praised Morgan and Smith for taking on the new challenge at such as critical time for Australian football.
“The appointments of Trevor and Ron come at a dynamic time for Australian football. In our recently published XI Principles for the future of Australian football (XI Principles), we advanced what we believe to be a bold and courageous fifteen-year vision for Australian football,” Johnson said.
“The feedback we received from our consultations and public surveys on the XI Principles have told us that the Australian football community is excited by this vision. Trevor and Ron will play a key role in helping us establish the technical platform and build the much-needed football acumen in FFA that is required for Australian football to grow.”
Morgan’s responsibilities as National Technical Director will include the establishment of a national football calendar, a review of the national football curriculum, pathways, competitions, coach development and participation.
“Trevor is one of a new generation of Australia’s brightest coaching talents and brings a wealth of football knowledge to his new role, and in Ron Smith, we have the perfect complement. Ron has more than 30 years’ experience in technical delivery, coach education and training, and the pair will create a formidable partnership.” Johnson added.
“Both Trevor and Ron have been involved in Australian football over many years, and it’s great to see the retention of internal talent during such turbulent times. We have a wonderful pool of coaches and technical talent within the Australian football ecosystem, and we want to do more to promote this talent.”
“We identified the importance of developing our coaches alongside player development within the XI Principles and, following the announcement of the recent Memorandum of Understanding between FFA and Football Coaches Australia last week, we are excited to take another significant step towards this objective by tapping into our domestic pool of talent and providing an opportunity for an Australian coach to take this next step in their career.”
Morgan has spent the past two years as Head Coach of the Joeys, leading the team to the knockout stages of the FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil in 2019. He will continue in the role until next year’s FIFA U17 World Cup to be held in Peru.
