1. Mark Richard David Parsons was born on 8 August 1986 and is an English football manager who is the former head coach of American club Washington Spirit.
16 Facts About Mark Parsons
1. 2.
Mark Parsons previously managed top-level teams including the Netherlands women's national team, the Portland Thorns FC, and the Washington Spirit in a previous stint.
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Mark Parsons holds USSF and UEFA A and B Licenses, a USSF National Youth License, and a NSCAA Director of Coaching Diploma.
4.
Mark Parsons was born and raised in Surrey, England, and played youth football in Woking.
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Mark Parsons spent six years in multiple coaching roles in England.
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Mark Parsons then held several coaching roles at Chelsea, counting Reece James and Conor Gallagher among the youth players he trained at the academy level.
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Mark Parsons, seeking a job in the Virginia area, accepted the role of technical director at Culpeper Soccer Club in 2010 and moved with his wife to the United States.
8.
In 2012, Mark Parsons led the DC United Women Under-20s to the 2012 Super-20 League final, which they lost to Colorado Rapids Women.
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Mark Parsons was signed by Washington Spirit on 16 March 2013 to manage their reserve team for the 2013 W-League season.
10.
Mark Parsons stepped down from his position as head coach and general manager of the Washington Spirit on 30 September 2015.
11.
On 5 October 2015, Mark Parsons accepted the position as head coach of Portland Thorns FC.
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Mark Parsons led a new-look team through a 12-game undefeated streak from the beginning of the 2016 season.
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In March 2020 Mark Parsons signed a new multi-year contract with Portland.
14.
In 2021 Mark Parsons led the Thorns to the NWSL Shield for the second time.
15.
On 20 May 2021, the KNVB announced that Mark Parsons would succeed Sarina Wiegman as head coach of the Netherlands women's national football team after the conclusion of the 2020 Summer Olympics; he continued to coach the Portland Thorns until November 2021 after the season finished, when the position was taken over by Rhian Wilkinson.
16.
On 21 November 2022, Mark Parsons was announced as the head coach for the Washington Spirit, succeeding Kris Ward as head coach and Albertin Montoya as interim head coach.