_135.jpg) Harvey with theSeattle Reign in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Laura Kate Harvey[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-05-15)15 May 1980 (age 45)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Nuneaton,Warwickshire, England | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Seattle Reign FC (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Coventry City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | |||
| Birmingham City | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002–2006 | Birmingham City (assistant) | ||
| 2005–2011 | EnglandU-17,U-19,U-23 (assistant) | ||
| 2006–2008 | Birmingham City | ||
| 2008–2010 | Arsenal (assistant) | ||
| 2010–2012 | Arsenal | ||
| 2013–2017 | Seattle Reign FC | ||
| 2017 | United States U-23 (interim) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Utah Royals FC | ||
| 2020–2021 | United States U-20 | ||
| 2020–2021 | United States (assistant) | ||
| 2021– | Seattle Reign FC | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Laura Kate Harvey (born 15 May 1980) is an Englishfootballmanager and former player[2] who currently managesSeattle Reign FC of the AmericanNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL).[3] She holds USSF "A" and UEFA "A" coaching licenses.[4]
Harvey previously managed theUnited States women's national under-20 soccer team,Utah Royals FC,Arsenal, andBirmingham City. She was an assistant coach with theUnited States women's national soccer team[5] as well as England'sU-17,U-19 andU-23 national teams.
Harvey was namedFA WSL Manager of the Year in 2011 after guiding Arsenal to win the league title, FA Cup, and Continental Cup. She was namedNWSL Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, and 2021. She was the second woman to earn a U.S. Soccer Pro License.[6] Harvey is the first coach in NWSL history to coach 200 regular season games. As of July 2023[update], she holds the NWSL record for most regular season wins.[7]
Harvey grew up inBulkington, a village inWarwickshire in theWest Midlands region of England. She attendedThe George Eliot School inNuneaton.[8] Her father was a full-time high school teacher and a football coach who worked forThe Football Association (FA) andCoventry City F.C. during her childhood.[9] She would often attend men'sPremier League games with her father where he taught her and her brother to "not just watch the ball, but everything else that's going on."[10]
Harvey began playing football at a young age on boys teams and in neighborhood pickup games along withLaura Bassett as there was no youth girls league available.[10] As a teenager, Harvey played forCoventry City L.F.C. for six years.[11] She graduated from theUniversity of Wolverhampton with a bachelor's degree in Sports Studies.[12]
At age 22, Harvey ruptured herACL while playing forBirmingham City; she subsequently retired from playing.[13][8] She previously played forWolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C.[14]
Harvey was named assistant coach forBirmingham City in 2002. In 2007, she was named team manager.[9]
In 2008, Harvey joinedArsenal as its first team coach. The following year, she was hired full-time as Assistant Academy Director and Reserve Team Manager.[15]
In February 2010, Harvey was hired to replaceTony Gervaise as manager forArsenal. Of her hiring, Harvey said, "It's a really proud moment for me. In women's football, especially domestically, it doesn't come any bigger than Arsenal. When you set out to coach and you know this is your dream and your love, you want to make it the best it can possibly be and in my eyes it doesn't get much bigger than this."[16]
In 2011, Harvey was namedFAWSL Manager of the Year after guiding the team to win the league title, FA Cup, and Continental Cup.[17] She finished her tenure with Arsenal in 2012 having led the team to three consecutive league titles, twoContinental Cups, and oneFA Women's Cup.[14][18][19] Harvey led the Gunners to theUEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals twice.[4]
On 21 December 2012, Harvey was named head coach ofSeattle Reign FC for the inaugural season of theNational Women's Soccer League, a new professional league in the United States.[14][20][21] The Reign faced a tough first half of the season and went 0–9–1 in their first ten games after all three of their American allocated players were unavailable:Hope Solo was out for wrist surgery and recovery,Amy Rodriguez was out for the season due to pregnancy, andMegan Rapinoe was returning mid-season after a six-month stint for Olympique Lyonnais.[22] With the return of Solo, Rapinoe, and some additional lineup changes made during the early summer, the Reign turned their regular season record around and finished the season in seventh place with a 5–14–3 record.[23] In August 2013, Harvey signed a contract extension with the Reign through 2017.[24] She left the club in November 2017.[25]
During the2014 season, Harvey led the Reign to set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games during the first part of the season. During the 16 game stretch, the team compiled a 13–0–3 record.[26] The Reign finished first in the regular season clinching theNWSL Shield for the first time.[27] After defeating theWashington Spirit 2–1 in the playoff semi-finals, the Reign were defeated 2–1 byFC Kansas City during the championship final.[28] Following the regular season, Harvey was named the league'sCoach of the Year.[29] In December 2014, she was named FA Coach of the Year by theFA, and was a finalist for theFIFA World Coach of the Year.[30]
During the2015 season, Harvey led the Reign to finish first in the regular season clinching theNWSL Shield for the second consecutive season.[31] After defeating theWashington Spirit 3–0 in a playoff semi-final, the Reign were defeated 1–0 byFC Kansas City during the championship final in Portland.[32] Following the 2015 regular season, Harvey was namedNWSL Coach of the Year for the second consecutive time.[33]
On 7 November 2017, the Reign announced that Harvey had stepped down as head coach and general manager, and that the team had hiredFC Kansas City coachVlatko Andonovski, who had defeated Harvey's Reign FC teams in the 2014 and 2015 NWSL championship matches, on her recommendation.[34][35]
On 27 November 2017,Utah Royals FC announced Harvey as their first head coach.[36]
The Royals launched with players primarily sourced from the defunctFC Kansas City, which had spent almost all of the2017 season out of playoff contention. The team's struggles continued in Utah during the2018 season, playing five winless matches before their first victory on 5 May againstWashington Spirit. The team then went on a5–2–2 run that kept them in contention for the table's fourth-place spot and playoff qualification, then added mid-season reinforcements ofChristen Press,Samantha Johnson, andMakenzy Doniak. However, the Royals stumbled into a three-match losing streak in July, and a4–1–2 finish was not enough to qualify for the postseason.[37][38]
Despite a strong5–2–2 start to the2019 season, the Royals finished the season5–8–2 and were eliminated from NWSL playoff contention for the second consecutive season after losing toChicago Red Stars on 28 September 2019.[39]
While she initially expected to return to Utah for the 2020 season,[40] on 7 January 2020 Royals FC announced that Harvey had accepted an appointment from U.S. Soccer to manage itsunder-20 women's team.[41]
Harvey returned to theReign as head coach, where she previously coached from 2013 to 2017, after the2020 Summer Olympics in August 2021.[3]
The Reign finished second in the2021 season with a13–8–3 season record, and7–2–2 record under Harvey, but lost toWashington Spirit 1–2 in theplayoff semi-finals.[42] Harvey was named2021 NWSL Coach of the Year by a vote of owners, general managers, coaches, media, players, and fans; the 2022 win was her third.[43]
In2022, the Reign finished atop the NWSL table with a11–4–7 record and won its thirdNWSL Shield, all under Harvey, but lost toKansas City Current 0–2 in theplayoff semi-finals.[44] The Reign also finished atop the West Division of the2022 NWSL Challenge Cup group stage with an undefeated4–0–2 record, but fell to Washington Spirit in the playoff semi-finals 8–9 bypenalty shoot-out after a scoreless draw.[45] Harvey also led the Reign to a2022 The Women's Cup championship, defeatingClub América in the semi-finals[46] and hostsRacing Louisville FC in the finals.[47] Harvey was a finalist for the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year award.[48]
In July 2023, Harvey became the first coach in league history to coach 200 regular season games. As of July 2023[update], she holds the NWSL record for most regular season wins.[49] The same month, she extended her contract as head coach through the2025 season.[49]
In an episode of the Soccerish podcast released on October 30, 2025, Harvey claimed to have usedChatGPT to generate suggested formations and tactics to use against NWSL opponents during the 2025 season, and after researching and reviewing the suggestions with her staff then employed ChatGPT's suggested five-backformation against two of those opponents.[50][51][52]
From 2005–2011, Harvey served as assistant coach for England'sU-17,U-19 andU-23 national teams.[14][53]
Harvey was named as coach of theUnited States U-23 national team for a tournament in Spring 2017, after coaching them through a January camp. She reportedly took on an expanded role with theUnited States Soccer Federation following her exit from the Seattle Reign FC organization.[54]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Head Coach Harvey celebrates with the United States U20 national team after winning the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championshipretrieved July 23, 2023 |
From January 2020 to July 2021, Harvey was the head coach of theUnited States women's national under-20 soccer team; she also served as an assistant coach of theUnited States women's national soccer team.[55] Harvey led the U-20 team on a seven-game unbeaten streak and championship win at the2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in theDominican Republic. The team, which included future senior national team starsSophia Smith,Trinity Rodman, andNaomi Girma,[56] outscored its opponents 44-1 at the tournament.[6] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and subsequently cancelledFIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Harvey had limited coaching opportunities during this time though credits the experience as a good learning and personal growth period.[57]
Arsenal[19]
Seattle Reign FC
United States U-20
Individual
Harvey said she expects to return to Utah next season, though she won't be the next coach of the U.S. Women's National Team.
