Courage hires Ceri Bowley as sporting director to lead youth development push

New York Times

30-04-2025

The North Carolina Courage has appointed Dr. Ceri Bowley as the club's new chief soccer officer and sporting director. With more than 15 years of experience in strategy and talent development, Bowley joins the Courage with a clear vision for the future.
'I'm massively passionate about talent development and making sure young players get the chance to show what they can do. That's a huge part of why I chose The Courage,' Bowley told The Athletic. 'The club's deep ties with a strong youth system, including people I've worked with before who are doing great work, really stood out.'
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Bowley most recently served as the global lead of technical leadership at Double Pass, a global advisory company that specializes in optimizing talent development in clubs, leagues and federations, while also serving as a technical advisor to the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), where both NC Courage Youth and NCFC Youth compete. He was also the senior coaching pathway manager at the Premier League. Before those roles, he was the head of coaching support at City Football Group, overseeing coaching methodology and player development across multiple clubs, including Manchester City. At his new club, Bowley says the primary objective is to 'control the game.'
'When I look at The Courage, there are already clear synergies, especially in how (head coach) Sean (Nahas) sets the team up to control games,' Bowley said. 'You can see a common thread: it's about possession, but not for its own sake. Like (Manchester City manager) Pep (Guardiola) has shown, it's really about control, with and without the ball. That's the foundation of how we want to play.'
The reference to the treble-winning Premier League coach is no accident. Nahas told The Athletic's 'Full Time' podcast last week that he admires Guardiola's style of coaching.
'The way he carries himself, the way he talks about the game, the way he sees the game, I think is just something I connect with,' Nahas said.
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The Courage have long been a powerhouse in the NWSL, winning back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019. But in recent years, the team has faced challenges on the pitch. The Courage got its first win of the 2025 season on Saturday against No. 1 Kansas City Current. Originally founded as the Western New York Flash, the franchise captured the inaugural NWSL title in 2016 before owner Steve Malik relocated the club to North Carolina and rebranded it as the Courage in 2017.
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Off the field, the Courage was one of multiple teams named in the 2021 abuse scandal that transformed the NWSL amid multiple years of reckoning with widespread abuse. The Courage's former coach, Paul Riley, was explicitly named in the allegations.
Over the years, Malik has brought in a diverse group of investors, most recently including Olympic gold medalist and soccer legend Lauren Holiday and her husband, NBA star Jrue Holiday.
Fresh to the ownership group, the club said Lauren Holiday played a key role in leading the search for the club's new chief soccer officer.
'Ceri's soccer IQ, inspiring leadership style, and relentless attention to detail make him the perfect person to drive our technical vision forward,' Holiday said in a statement.
Bowley says they share a common view on how he will shape the future of The Courage.
'We see the game in the same way,' he told The Athletic. 'There's such an alignment and synergy between how we see things and the kind of experiences that we've had through the game.'
A native of Wales, Bowley has made an impact across all levels of the game, including a stint with Scottish giants Rangers FC, where he helped guide the team during their UEFA Champions League qualification campaign. At the Courage, he aims to bring the same long-term influence he's had in his previous roles.
'I have a duty to make sure I don't make short-term decisions that could hurt us in the long run,' he said. 'Quick fixes might be tempting, but if we make them, they need to serve us well beyond just this season into year two, three, four, and beyond.
'It's easy to fall into the trap of fighting fires, focusing only on the present without thinking about the future. But in this role, my duty is to always plan ahead. That's why I'm not making bold promises about immediate league position or roster moves. What I can say is that over the coming years, the goal is clear: to build a club that wins again.'