Lee Johnson (football coach)

Lee Alan Johnson (born 27 November 1980) is an English football coach who was most recently Academy Manager for Leyton Orient. He was the head coach of India U19 and the assistant coach of India.[1]

For the American football coach, see Lee Johnson (lineman).
Not to be confused with Lee Johnson (footballer).
Lee Johnson
Johnson as Rwanda manager in 2015
Personal information
Full name Lee Johnson
Date of birth (1980-11-27) 27 November 1980
Place of birth Dartford, England
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
1990–1996 Millwall F.C.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1999 Ebbsfleet Utd
1999–2001 Chatham Town
2001–2003 Dartford
Managerial career
2000–2005 Crystal Palace (Academy)
2006–2012 Chelsea (Academy)
2014–2015 Rwanda (Technical Director)
2014–2015 Rwanda U17
2015 Rwanda (Interim)
2015–2017 India U19
2015–2017 India (Assistant)
2017–2020 Barnet (Head of Coaching)
2021–2023 Leyton Orient (Academy Manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Coaching career

Crystal Palace Football Club

In July 2000, Johnson joined Crystal Palace and spent five years working as a football development officer before sharing his role and working as a coach within the club's youth academy.

In 2003, while still working for Crystal Palace, he became an FA Learning Tutor for The Football Association and instructed courses for professional football clubs, county football associations, colleges and universities.[2]

Chelsea Football Club

In July 2006, Johnson joined Chelsea and coached within the academy for six years, coaching players from 8 to 14 years old.[3]

Fédération Rwandaise de Football Association

In July 2014, Johnson signed a two-year contract to become the National Technical Director of Rwanda, making him at the time one of the youngest technical directors in world football. He was responsible for development, management and implementation of the federation's national programmes which include grassroots, coach education, women's and girls' football and elite player development.[4] Since his appointment the federation has introduced youth leagues across the country for both boys and girls.[5][6] To help support this programme, Johnson worked to restructure the coach education programme and developed strong partnerships with The Football Association and the German Football Federation to introduce grassroots and leadership programmes to promote standards and increase the level of coaching across the country.[7] In addition, Johnson coached the U17s and U23s National teams to compete in the AFCON qualifiers and international friendlies.[8] In January 2015, he was appointed the interim National Team Coach following the resignation of the much admired Stephen Constantine who left to become the National Team Coach of India.[9][10]

In July 2014, the national team were ranked 134th in the world. After a run of successful results Rwanda moved up to 64th in the FIFA world rankings, the highest position for the country as of 2015.[11][12]

All India Football Federation

On 14 April 2015, it was announced that Johnson would be taking charge of the India U19 and would join Stephen Constantine's coaching staff as his assistant.[1][13]

Barnet & Leyton Orient Football Clubs

In July 2017, Johnson was appointed Head of Coaching at Barnet, a role he remained in until the end of the 2019-20 season. He joined Leyton Orient in July 2021 as Academy Manager, leaving in February 2023.

Coaching conventions

Johnson has worked as a consultant and has delivered coach education programmes, workshops and seminars for a number of professional organisations and associations, one of which was Inside Soccer. In August 2012, he was featured as a guest clinician at the Inside Soccer International Coaches Convention in New York. He also filmed a number of coaching sessions on youth development.

Since 2012, Johnson has been featured at a number of coaching conventions around the world. In 2014, he delivered a session at the NSCAA Convention "Philly 2014".[14][15]

References
  1. Usher Komugisha. "Johnson resigns as Rwanda TD". Supersport.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  2. Rahim Mohamed. "Lee Johnson Interview on Coaching". Coaching the Global Game. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  3. "Rwanda appoints ex-Chelsea Academy coach Johnson". MTN Football. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  4. Usher Komugisha (2 January 2015). "Ferwafa tactician recounts grassroots football evolution in Rwanda". New Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  5. Usher Komugisha (11 December 2014). "Ferwafa to start youth football leagues in 2015". New Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  6. "FERWAFA U-15 League to be Launched in Gatsibo". Kigali Today. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  7. Usher Komugisha. "English FA to train Rwandan young leaders". In2EastAfrica. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  8. Owen Amos. "British Coaches Abroad: Lee Johnson". Football365. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  9. Usher Komugisha (17 January 2015). "Johnson is new Amavubi coach". New Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  10. Usher Komugisha (15 January 2015). "Constantine resigns from Amavubi". New Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  11. Richard Bishumba (12 March 2015). "Rwanda posts new record in Fifa ranking". New Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  12. "Wasps get the buzz in Africa". 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015.
  13. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/136/india/2015/05/12/11648642/johnson-takes-charge-of-india-u19s?ICID=SP_HN_HP_RI_1_3. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. Richard Bishumba. "Small Sided Games (Transition)" (PDF). NSCAA. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  15. "2014 Clinician Outlines : NSCAA Convention". nscaa.com. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
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