Leslie John "Les" Wilson (born 10 July 1947) is a football administrator and former professional player. He played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, and most notably

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, one of the first North American-trained players to do so. Following his playing career with the original North American Soccer League's and his hometown

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...

, Wilson became a

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

coach and administrator involved in some of the national program's finest ever results. He is an honoured member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.

Childhood and youth career

His family settled in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada, when Wilson was seven years old. He played youth soccer for Collingwood Legion in the Vancouver and District Juvenile Soccer League.

Playing career

Les Wilson was just 16 years old when he made his Pacific Coast League debut on September 15, 1963, for the Westminster Royals FC. He scored three goals in that 1963-64 rookie season and won the Ed Bayley Trophy as BC Soccer's most outstanding player in his first year in senior soccer. He was also selected to play for the Vancouver All-Stars in a June 10 exhibition match against touring

Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

. Wilson was invited England to try out for

. He made his Wolves first team debut in December 1965, in a Second Division away match against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. Wilson is one of very few professional footballers to have played in matches in nine different positions, as designated in that era by a player's jersey number, something he achieved while playing for Wolves. During his over ten years playing in England, which also included a brief stint at both

and

, Wilson played over 100 First Division matches.

Coaching and administrative career

Wilson became a Whitecaps coach immediately following retiring as a player, helping the club lift the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl, and stayed on with the club as an administrative until the organization folded in 1984. Wilson joined Canada Soccer as a national teams administrator. During his tenure, the senior national team reached their only World Cup finals, Mexico 1986. The side also reached the quarter-finals at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

and beat huge odds to win the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship with Wilson on staff. Wilson was named

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...

assistant secretary in 1999. The following year he became executive director of the British Columbia Soccer Association.

References

External links

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Canada Soccer Hall of FameCanada Soccer Records & Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Les 1947 births Living people Men's association football utility players Bristol City F.C. players Canadian men's soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees English emigrants to Canada Kansas City Spurs players Los Angeles Wolves players Naturalized citizens of Canada North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Norwich City F.C. players Footballers from Manchester Soccer players from Vancouver United Soccer Association players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England