Gavin Wilkinson (born 5 November 1973) is a former New Zealand
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who served as general manager and President of Soccer for the
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
from 2009 to 2022.
Prior to this position, Wilkinson was manager of
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
in the
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...
before their promotion to
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
beginning with the 2011 season. As a player, he was known as a strong leader and
defender.
Playing career
Club career
Wilkinson played defence for with the
USL
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
from 2001 to 2006, adding assistant coach duties in 2005 and 2006. Wilkinson retired as an active player and was named Head Coach and General Manager for
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
in September 2006. During the 2009 season, he directed the Timbers to the Commissioner's Cup as the regular season champion and a league record 24 game unbeaten string (14-0-10), smashing the previous record of 16.
International career
Wilkinson played for the
New Zealand national football team
The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football ...
, the All Whites and collected 33 caps in official
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
internationals, scoring 1 goal.
Coaching career
Wilkinson also runs EastSide Timbers FC, a youth soccer club based in Gresham, OR.
On 18 January 2010, Wilkinson was named Technical Director of the expansion
Portland Timbers club in Major League Soccer (MLS), set to begin play in the 2011 season. He assumed those duties while still coaching the Timbers through the 2010 season.
Portland Thorns
Wilkinson was the general manager of the
Portland Thorns, the Timbers' sister club in the
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
from its inception in 2013. As a result of the 2021 fallout of the
scandal
A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
surrounding allegations that
Paul Riley had sexually harassed Thorns players during his tenure as the club's coach (2014 to 2015), Wilkinson, who was responsible for Riley's hire and the eventual non-retainment of Riley's services following the 2015 season, was put on administrative leave from the Thorns and eventually replaced by
Karina Leblanc
Karina Chenelle LeBlanc (born March 30, 1980) is an American-born Canadian former professional soccer goalkeeper and current general manager of the Portland Thorns FC. She played for the Canadian national team and multiple professional women's ...
. An independent investigation into abuse in the
NWSL
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
commissioned by
the US Soccer Federation and lead by
Sally Yates
Sally Quillian Yates (born Sally Caroline Quillian; August 20, 1960) is an American lawyer. From 2010 to 2015, she was United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In 2015, she was appointed United States Deputy Attorney General b ...
detailed how Wilkinson encouraged other clubs to hire Riley after his departure from the Thorns. According to the report, Wilkinson "told the
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid ...
that Riley was 'put in a bad position by the player,' and that Wilkinson would 'hire
ileyin a heartbeat.'"
Wilkinson also acted to hide the abuse from the media by telling reporters that Riley was let go because the team failed to make the playoffs.
Medical staff of the club also reported that Wilkinson was made aware that Riley had interfered with their treatment and was endangering players.
Wilkinson and the Portland Timbers front office faced further accusations of misconduct in the face of abuse reports in February 2022, when
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
suspended Timbers player
Andy Polo
Andy Jorman Polo Andrade (born 29 September 1994), commonly known as La Joya (The Jewel), is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Universitario and the Peru national team. Polo made his professional debut with Peruvian ...
pending an investigation into allegations of domestic violence made by Polo's ex-partner. Police reports later indicated that Timbers employees were present when police arrived to investigate the initial call in May 2021, months before The Athletic's report on Paul Riley was published, but the team failed to report the incident to the league for nine months. Polo's ex-partner detailed the event on Peruvian television, and claimed she had been pressured into not filing charges against Polo. An MLS investigation in March 2022 claimed the Timbers did not pressure Polo's ex-partner nor intentionally conceal the incident or their involvement. Wilkinson claimed
Diego Valeri
Diego Hernán Valeri (born 1 May 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
From 2013 to 2021, Valeri played for Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers, and is regarded as one of the league' ...
opposed the decision to cut Polo, which Valeri denied as he was no longer with the Timbers at the time of Polo's release from the team.
After an October 2022 report commissioned by the
U.S. Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
was revealed, Timbers and Thorns owner
Merritt Paulson
Henry Merritt Paulson III (born 1972/1973) is an American businessman who is the minority owner of Peregrine Sports, LLC, which owns the operating rights to the Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, and the Portland Thorns FC, a N ...
announced Wilkinson, team president Mike Golub, and Paulson himself would thereafter recuse themselves from all Thorns decisions. Their respective futures with regard to the Timbers were not included in the statement. Earlier that day, the
Timbers Army
The Timbers Army is an independent supporters group of Portland Timbers, a soccer club in Major League Soccer—the top tier of the United States soccer pyramid. Its members are known for their loud, enthusiastic support and the raucous atmosp ...
and Rose City Riveters formally demanded the removal of Wilkinson and Golub and for Paulson to sell the teams.
On 5 October, Wilkinson and Golub were fired from the club. A report in ''
The Athletic
''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...
'' stated that Wilkinson was set to receive a contract extension, with a clause which allowed the club to terminate for cause.
Honours
Player
;Perth Glory
*Most Glorious Player Award (1x): 1996-1997
Manager
;Portland Timbers
Cascadia Cup
The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for the ...
(1x): 2012
USL-1 Coach of the Year (2x): 2007, 2009
Managerial stats
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Gavin
1973 births
Living people
Association football defenders
Association footballers from Auckland
Double Flower FA players
Major League Soccer executives
New Zealand association football coaches
New Zealand association footballers
New Zealand international footballers
Perth Glory FC players
Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players
Portland Timbers (MLS) coaches
Portland Timbers (USL) coaches
A-League (1995–2004) players
USL First Division players
USL First Division coaches
Waitakere City FC players
1998 OFC Nations Cup players
1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players
2000 OFC Nations Cup players
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players
Hong Kong First Division League players
League of Ireland players
New Zealand expatriate association footballers
Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong
Expatriate footballers in Singapore
Expatriate soccer players in Australia
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Ireland
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Singapore
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States