Njegosh Popovich was announced as the new head coach of Canberra United this week.  The appointment will mark a return home for Popovich who had previously worked as an Assistant Coach for the A-League Women's side.

Njegosh Popovich Appointment

  • Canberra appointed Njegosh Popovich as their new head coach.
  • Popovich replaces outgoing head coach Vicki Linton.
  • The new gaffer joins the side with extensive domestic and international experience.

More A-League Women's news can be found on The Women's Game.

United appointed the new head coach following the departure of Vicki Linton.  Popovich is not a stranger to the Canberra side, having previously worked for the Capital region club as an assistant coach to the A-League squad from September 2015 to March 2017.

He also rejoins the club with extensive NPL, academy and international coaching experience.  Internationally he has spent five-years as an assistant coach with the Junior Matildas, most recently taking part in the AFC Women's Championship side who finished 4th in Thailand in 2019.

Domestically he has served as a head and assistant coach respectively with NPL clubs Monaro Panthers and Canberra Olympic.  Popovic also lead the ACT Schoolboys and the Canberra United Academy U15 and U18 sides. 

Canberra United CEO Chris Gardiner stated that this connection to the local football scene was part of the reason for his recruitment. 

“We considered a number of potential candidates for the role of Head Coach and Njegosh’s profile ticked all the right boxes for us as an organisation,” stated Gardiner.

“Njegosh brings a highly valued CV, an understanding of Women’s football and is across the local football scene.

"He is Canberra born, has experience through Canberra United and is a very capable Canberra local to lead the club forward.

“I’ve never received such strong references in a selection process, and in this instance, both as a coach and as a person, I am very confident he is the right coach for the Club, the key players we have and want, and the A-League Women's in 2022/23.

“We are looking forward to welcoming Njegosh back to Canberra United.”

For his part Popovich expressed his expectations going forward with the club,

“I am thrilled to have been appointed as Head Coach for Canberra United and am very excited about getting started at the club,” Popovich said of the announcement.

“My aim is to put Canberra United back on the map in the Liberty Women’s A-League.

"The club has a strong and proud history, and we should be challenging for league titles and playing in Grand Finals.

“My goal is to achieve that, and I am confident that we can regain our position as one of the most prominent clubs in the competition.”

Canberra finished the 2021-22 season in seventh place in the A-League Women.

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More Canberra United news can be found with this link.