Gerard Jones

Gerard Jones (born 24 June 1989) is an English professional football coach, who currently coaches the Bangladesh national under-20 football team team (Head Coach)

He has previously worked as an Elite Coach Educator with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and as a former Head of Coaching at Bristol Rovers

Jones is a former youth team player at Halifax Town,

Coaching career Jones has over 18 years experience coaching in the U.K., U.S., Italy, Norway, Morocco and New Zealand, his previous roles include being a Director of Coaching in the U.S., having also worked as a Director of Coaching at Arsenal Soccer Schools, U21s Assistant Coach at Bradford City, an Academy Coach at Rochdale and a former Manager (association football) at Eccleshill United

Since leaving Bristol Rovers in 2018, Jones joined United States Soccer Federation as a nationally licensed Coach Educator, having been identified by USSF to deliver nationally accredited coach education courses through Eastern New York State Soccer Association and other state associations. As a published author in communication psychology through the use of Game-calls with a focus on the use of feedback, Jones has presented at several coaching conferences and events, which includes as a Guest Presenter at the Kentucky Youth Soccer Association "Soccer Learning University" conference in 2020, one of the United States Soccer Federation State Soccer Association sharing insight into his 4-Cs Coaching Approach which guides his coaching philosophy.

Jones joined the Royal Moroccan Football Federation recruited by Osian Roberts as an Elite Coach Educator (Formateur des Entraîneurs) in Feb 2020.

He became a Director of Coaching at Major League Soccer Sporting Kansas City.

He currently serves as Head of Youth & Development Coach for the BFF, overseeing the men's national youth pathway from under-14 to under-23 level. He also serves as Head Coach of the Bangladesh under-17 and under-20 national teams.

Appointed in June 2026 following a competitive international recruitment process involving 115 applicants. Jones was ranked first following interviews with five finalists and selected ahead of a candidate pool that included several high profiles including AFC Pro Licence holders and former international players.

Early life, education and awards

Early career Jones started his coaching career in schools and community programs, later going on to launch his own coaching business Gerard School of Football. He then coached at various non-league youth and reserve teams, alongside college and university programs, and later became an Academy Coach at Rochdale A.F.C and First Team Manager at Eccleshill United F.C.

In 2011, Jones was listed among the Top 50 brightest and most talented people in the North of England, and in 2014 was also awarded the Junior Chamber International U.K. Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) award for his entrepreneurial success and creation of coaching programs with Gerard School of Football.

In March 2016, Jones left England and his role with Bradford City A.F.C. where he was the Assistant U21s Coach through American collegiate soccer academy RIASA, to become the Director of Coaching at Eastside F.C. in Michigan.

Alongside coaching, Jones is also a published author with his book titled: Let's Talk Soccer.

Bristol Rovers June 2017, Bristol Rovers F.C. announced Jones as Head of Academy Coaching, responsible for the development of the Academy coaching program and coach development across all ages, working with the Academy Manager and Phase Lead Coaches to enhance the efficiency of their programs. He is currently undertaking a PhD in Skill Acquisition at Sheffield Hallam University Additionally, he created a digital tech-startup providing online coach education for coaches, which has already received support from NatWest via their Entrepreneur Accelerator programme and the University of Cambridge's Impulse Programme for High Tech Innovation. He also possesses a PGCE in Lifelong Learning from the University of Huddersfield,

Jones is also a Nationally Licensed Coach Educator for United States Soccer Federation and has also mentored coaches on behalf of The Football Association of Wales, Asian Football Confederation, the Football Association and other governing bodies Jones led the team to two wins and three draws from their opening seven league matches, leaving Visakha seventh in the table before the club decided to part ways with him as Head Coach on 10 October 2025 following a 2-2 draw away to Nagaworld FC.

2026 and Bangladesh Football Federation

During the summer of 2026, Jones was mentioned by local media as a potential candidate for the vacant FC Halifax Town managerial position following the departure of Adam Lakeland to Morecambe F.C.. Other names linked with the role included Kevin Nolan, Kevin Phillips, Neal Ardley and Jon Stead.

In June 2026, Jones was appointed Head of Youth & Development Coach of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on a two year contract , with responsibility for leading the development of men's youth national teams from under-14 to under-23 level. His immediate priority was preparing the Bangladesh under-20 national team for the 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification tournament in Uzbekistan. The competition was approved by the FIFA Council last December as part of FIFA's commitment to developing youth football worldwide.

Jones' coaching philosophy emphasises developing autonomous players through communication, leadership, and decision-making rather than coach-directed instruction. He has advocated creating representative training environments in which players organise teammates, solve tactical problems, and assume leadership responsibilities independently. These ideas were outlined in Chapter 23, Improving Player Communication (pp. 292–297), of The Real Giants of Soccer Coaching: Insights and Wisdom from the Game's Greatest Coaches (2018), in which Jones suggested that coaches should seek to place "the knowledge on the field, not the sideline". The publication also featured insights from coaches including Michael Beale, Mario Sanchez, Anthony Pulis, Marc Nicholls, KC Current Head of Player Development Erwin van Bennekom , legendary soccer coach Anson Dorrance, Todd Beane, Mike Muñoz, Tab Ramos, and others.

His work has also argued for a reconceptualisation of game models as adaptive, principle-based frameworks rather than rigid tactical systems, emphasising the interaction between players, opponents and environmental constraints in shaping performance. His work has explored how augmented information can be used to guide athlete attentional search without prescribing specific movement solutions. Through the development of the Transitional Learning Model, Jones has proposed that coaches can use feedback as an informational constraint to support player exploration, self-regulation and the discovery of functional performance solutions within dynamic performance environments.

Managerial statistics

Honours Visakha FC VSK Cup 2025