Poletti 
Bev Priestman at a press conference in 2024 while she was still coach of Canada. Photo: Wikipedia Commons - Robin Glover CC BY 4.0 cropped.
Following Paul Temple’s departure from the Wellington Phoenix at the end of his contract after a failing to make the A-League Women finals, the club has been looking for a new coach for next season.
On Friday morning, the club announced that assistant coach Amy Shepherd has re-signed for the 2025/26 season, and would be named as the interim head coach until a permanent appointment “is made in late July”.
Round Ball Australia understands per a source with knowledge of the matter, that the permanent appointment is planned to be former Canada Women’s National Team coach Bev Priestman, who was suspended by Canada Soccer before being let go from the role over the Olympic drone scandal.
This saw her, as well as assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi, handed a 12-month suspension from any football related activity by FIFA, a suspension that is send to end in July.
Priestman is unable to officially take on any role before her suspension is up, but the timeline matches up with the “late July” claim of an appointment in Shepherd’s announcement.
In a Stuff.co.nz article in April, Wellington Phoenix’s director of football Shaun Gill was quoted as saying the club “would be silly not to consider” the appointment of Bev Priestman if she was interested in the role.
The club is committed to investing resources in the A-League Women side, with Shepherd believed to be the only full-time assistant in the competition, which is notable because a number of clubs do not even have full-time head coaches for their women’s side.
Gill noted the importance of investing in the program.
“The club is committed to investing in the women’s programme and it’s only right that our women’s staff are on full-time contracts, like their male equivalents,” he said.
A priority for Shepherd from the club during her role as interim coach is player recruitment, in which she will be working alongside the club’s academy director Emma Humphries, the wife of Priestman.
Wellington Phoenix were unable to comment on the matter after being contacted by Round Ball Australia.
Why Priestman?
In keeping in line with their level of investment in the A-League Women program, a coach of Priestman’s quality is a no-brainer for Wellington.
She has won an Olympic Gold medal with Canada, has vast experience in dealing with international travel which the Phoenix regularly deal with, and has experience with developing youth players, amongst other things.
The decision might prove to be controversial amongst some Phoenix fans given how her time with Canada ended, given it was New Zealand international Rebekah Stott who spotted the drone that was spying on a closed training session which uncovered everything. It should not be.
Coaches and players have been given second chances for far worse indiscretions across all sports, and the Phoenix want to win.
A coach with Priestman’s CV can not be overlooked, and with a clear indication from the Phoenix that they want to be at the top of the A-League Women, if they think she is the coach to get them there, then fans might just need to get on board.
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