Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 23 September 1963 | ||
Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1982–1985 | Adelphi Panthers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1988 | Albany Capitals | (2) | |
1989–1990 | New Jersey Eagles | ||
1991 | Glen Cove | ||
1992 | Hercules | ||
1993 | New York Atlas | ||
1994–1997 | Long Island Rough Riders | ||
Managerial career | |||
1986–1989 | CW Post (assistant) | ||
1990–1997 | CW Post | ||
1997–2003 | Long Island Rough Riders | ||
2006–2009 | Long Island Fury | ||
2010–2011 | Philadelphia Independence | ||
2012–2013 | New York Fury | ||
2014–2015 | Portland Thorns | ||
2016 | Western New York Flash | ||
2017–2021 | North Carolina Courage | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Paul Riley (born 23 September 1963) is an English former football player and coach.
He spent his entire professional playing career in American leagues, including the American Professional Soccer League and the USISL. He has been a coach, mostly of women's teams, since the 1990s. In 2021, he was accused of sexual misconduct and mistreatment of players that spanned over a 10-year coaching period in the National Women's Soccer League and its predecessors. In 2023, Riley was banned from the NWSL for life.
In 1982, Riley came to the United States to attend Adelphi University. From 1982 to 1985, he played on the Adelphi Panthers men's soccer team. [1] In 1999, Adelphi inducted Riley into the school's Hall of Fame. [2]
After graduation, Riley became a manager, but in 1988, he turned professional when he joined the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League. [3] The Capitals did not renew his contract at the end of the season and Riley moved to the New Jersey Eagles for the 1989 and 1990 season. [4] In 1990, the Eagles played in the American Professional Soccer League which had been formed by the merger of the American Soccer League and the Western Soccer League. Riley was 1989 All League [5] and 1990 Second Team All League. In 1991, Riley moved down to Glen Cove of the New England Professional Soccer League. Glen Cove won the league championship as Riley was named MVP. In 1992, he again moved, this time to Hercules, again winning the NEPSL title. In 1993, he played for New York Atlas. In 1994, Riley returned to professional soccer with the expansion Long Island Rough Riders of the USISL. In 1995, Riley and his teammates won the league title. When he retired at the end of the 1997 season, Riley held the team's all-time career record for assists.
In 1986, Riley began his coaching career when CW Post hired him as an assistant. He was the head trainer for the Albertson Soccer League in the 1990’s. In 1990, Riley became head coach at CW Post, a position he held until 1997. Over his eight seasons as head coach, he compiled an 88–49–13 record. In 1997, Riley became the head coach of the Long Island Rough Riders, in addition to his duties as a player with the Rough Riders and head coach of CW Post. In 1999, Riley was named the USISL A-League Coach of the Year. [6] In 2002, the Rough Riders moved down to the USL D3 Pro League, winning the league championship that season. His last season with the Rough Riders came in 2003. Over the years, Riley was involved with the Albertson Fury Soccer Club. In 2006, Riley became the head coach of the Long Island Fury of the Women's Premier Soccer League. The Fury was part of the Albertson Fury Soccer Club. [7] Riley coached the Fury through the 2008 season. In September 2009, the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer hired Riley as the team's first coach. [8] Riley was selected as the 2010 WPS Coach of the Year. [9] In 2011, he took the team to the championship where they fell in penalties to the Western New York Flash. [10] Riley was also named 2011 WPS Coach of the Year. [11]
On 12 March 2012, following the collapse of WPS, Riley was named head coach of the New York Fury in the Women's Premier Soccer League. [12]
In 2013, Riley was named head coach of the Portland Thorns in the newly formed top-division National Women's Soccer League. [13] After leading the team to a 16–17–11 record and one playoff appearance over two seasons, but finishing the 2015 season in sixth place, the Thorns declined to renew Riley's contract. [14]
On 19 February 2016, Riley was announced as the head coach of the WNY Flash of the National Women's Soccer League. [15]
On 9 January 2017, the National Women's Soccer League announced that the WNY Flash franchise would be relocated to North Carolina. [16] Riley was officially hired as head coach of the relocated club, now called the North Carolina Courage, on 30 January. [17]
The Courage finished in first place during the 2017 regular season with a 16–7–1 record, winning the NWSL Shield and advanced to the Playoffs. The game that clinched the NWSL Shield for the Courage was a 4–0 win over Houston Dash. [18] In 2018 North Carolina finished in first place and won the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive season with a 17–1–6 record. [19] On 22 September, the Courage won the NWSL Championship 3–0 over the Portland Thorns, the first time the Courage had won the title. [20] [21]
In the 2019 season, the Courage finished in first place with a 15–5–4 record, winning the NWSL Shield for the third consecutive season. [22] After defeating Reign FC 4–1 in the semi-finals, [23] the Courage won their second NWSL Championship shutting out the Chicago Red Stars 4–0 in the final. [24]
A September 2021 report by The Athletic alleged that Riley had sexually coerced and verbally abused players on his teams, specifically during the time period between 2011 and 2015 (consisting of his time in WPS, WPSL, and NWSL). In the article, Riley denied the allegations. [25] [26] The article also stated that NWSL failed to act on Riley's alleged abuses multiple times, including earlier in 2021 when the league declined to act on an offer from two of Riley's alleged victims to assist in investigating Riley's alleged abuses. [27] [28]
On 30 September 2021, the Courage announced that Riley had been fired due to "very serious allegations of misconduct". [29] [30] The Portland Thorns released a statement the same day citing that some of the incidents occurred during Riley's two-year tenure as head coach of the Thorns in 2015 and discussing their reaction to the incidents at the time. [31]
On 1 October 2021, FIFA announced they were opening an investigation into the allegations. [32] The United States Soccer Federation suspended Riley's coaching license the same day. [33] [34] Concurrently, NWSL games were canceled that weekend and NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird (who had stated she was referring the matter to the United States Center for SafeSport for investigation) and general counsel Lisa Levin resigned. [27] [35] On 3 October, the US federation also hired former acting United States Attorney General Sally Yates to investigate the claims, [36] and the NWSL and its players' union launched a parallel investigation around that time. [37]
On January 9, 2023, following the release of the joint league–union report, Riley was banned from the NWSL for life, along with three other coaches named in the scandal. [38] [37]
Long Island Rough Riders
Western New York Flash
North Carolina Courage
Individual
Scott Vallow is a retired American soccer goalkeeper, most famously for playing with the Rochester Rhinos, 2005-2010. Scott was the assistant coach of the North Carolina Courage soccer team, having followed head coach Paul Riley from the Portland Thorns FC to Western New York Flash and the Courage. He was relieved from his duties on November 19, 2021.
The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) since 2013.
The Western New York Flash was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Professional Soccer in 2011, Women's Premier Soccer League Elite in 2012, and the National Women's Soccer League in 2016.
McCall RaNae Zerboni is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Alexandra Linsley Long is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder. She played for Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, and NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League, and represented the United States national team. She made her debut for the national team on May 8, 2014, in a friendly against Canada. She has since made 45 total appearances for the team.
Katherine Alexandra Reynolds is an American former professional soccer player who last played in 2020 as a defender for the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for the Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), Western New York Flash and Washington Spirit of the NWSL, and Newcastle Jets in the Australian W-League, as well as the United States U-23 women's national soccer team. She won the NWSL Championship in 2017 with the Thorns.
New York Fury was a semi-professional American women’s soccer club playing in the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite, the top tier of women’s soccer in the United States in 2012. It was part of the Fury Soccer Organization which also supports the Long Island Fury. The club, founded in 2011, was a member of Women's Premier Soccer League and in 2012 joined the newly formed Women's Premier Soccer League Elite.
Jessica Marie McDonald is an American professional soccer player for the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for the Australian W-League teams Melbourne Victory and Western United as well as the Western New York Flash, Chicago Red Stars, Seattle Reign FC, Portland Thorns FC, Houston Dash, and North Carolina Courage. McDonald became a World Cup champion in 2019, with the United States team that won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Sinead Louise Farrelly is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for NWSL team NJ/NY Gotham FC. Born and raised in the United States to an Irish father, she initially represented the country of birth at the youth international level before switching to represent the Republic of Ireland senior national team in 2023. She previously played for Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League. In 2011, she played for the Philadelphia Independence of the WPS and was a member of the United States women's national under-23 team. She was selected by the Philadelphia Independence as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft from University of Virginia. She was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2009 and 2010.
The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which received support from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) presents six annual awards to individual players. The Golden Boot award is presented to the top scorer at the end of the regular season, while the Most Valuable Player, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year awards are voted on by various league constituents. As of 2021, these awards are voted upon in two rounds: in the first round, players (50%), owners/general managers/coaches (25%), and media (25%) vote to determine the nominees; in the second round, players (50%), owners/general managers/coaches (20%), media (20%), and fans (10%) vote among the nominees to determine the winners.
Meredith Madeline Speck is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League.
The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York Flash. The Courage plays its home games at the WakeMed Soccer Park.
The 2017 North Carolina Courage season was the team's first season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. The Courage finished the regular season atop the table, winning the NWSL Shield and earning a spot in the NWSL Playoffs. After defeating Chicago 1–0 in the semi-finals of the playoffs, it lost 0–1 to Portland in the final.
Stephen Malik is a Welsh-American businessman and sports owner who owns and is chairman of North Carolina FC of United Soccer League and North Carolina Courage of National Women's Soccer League. He also founded and was executive chairman of medical technology company Medfusion, and was a member of the United States Soccer Federation board of directors from March 2017 to March 2019 and February 2020 to February 2021.
The 2018 North Carolina Courage season was the team's second season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage played in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. On August 5, the Courage clinched the 2018 NWSL Shield for the second consecutive season after a 2–1 win over Portland. The Courage finished the 2018 regular season with only 1 loss and broke the record for most wins in a season (17), most points (57) and most goals (53).
The National Women's Soccer League has undergone many allegations and reports of sexual harassment, misconduct, manipulation, pressure to lose an unhealthy amount of weight, sexual, verbal and emotional abuse, racist and sexist remarks, and the list goes on. These allegations of crossing professional boundaries with players led to formal investigations on the NWSL and many of its teams and coaches. Former US attorney general Sally Yates wrote in her report regarding the investigation how "Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players," The investigations ultimately concluded that multiple forms of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct were systematic in the sport and were not a one-time occurrence; they impacted many teams, coaches, and players. This led to public protests by players and as a result, multiple coaches have been reprimanded for their behavior. Five out of 10 head coaches in the 2021 season were fired or stepped down due to misconduct allegations. Some of the more significant allegations include Coaches Riley, Dames, Burke, and Holly, who all faced harsh punishments resulting in being completely banned from coaching as well as having involvement in activities pertaining to the NWSL.
The 2021 Portland Thorns FC season was the team's ninth season as a professional women's soccer team. Thorns FC plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.
The Yates Report, officially titled Report of the Independent Investigation to the U.S. Soccer Federation Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women's Professional Soccer, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions concerning abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women's professional soccer, with a focus on the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The 173-page report was publicly released by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) on October 3, 2022. It is named for Sally Yates, the King & Spalding partner who led the investigation who had previously served as acting United States Attorney General.