Mark Stewart Watson (born 8 September 1970) is a Canadian former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who currently works as a Senior Football Strategy Advisor (GM) at Halifax Wanderers FC . A former defender, Watson is the eighth most-capped player in the history of the Canada national team.

Club career

Watson spent 18 years as a professional soccer player. He spent three seasons with

Watford FC Watford Football Club is a professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The team played at several grounds in their early history, includ ...

of the English Championship from 1993 to 1995 and then joined Major League Soccer for its inaugural season in 1996. He split that first MLS season between the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

and

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

. Watson returned to MLS in 2001 with

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

after stops with the Seattle Sounders,

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

International career

For Canada, Watson has appeared 78 times for the 'A' national team during a 14-year span. He has played in four

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying campaigns. and on the

2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fifth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the 15th overall CONCACAF tournament. It was held in Los Angeles, Miami, and San Diego ...

side that won the tournament. Watson scored the winning goal for Canada in the semi-final of the 2000 Gold Cup, a match Canada won 1–0 over Trinidad and Tobago.

Coaching career

Watson began his coaching career in 2004 with the Canadian national team system where he held assistant positions with the U-20 and senior squads. Watson served as assistant coach for Canada at the 2004 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournament and was an assistant when the team finished third in the same tournament in 2008. He also spent four seasons on the staff of his former playing club

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

as an assistant to Mike Anhaeuser from 2006 to 2009, helping lead Charleston to the final of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After spending several seasons with

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

as an assistant to his Canadian colleague

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach and former player. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich Town, including the club's first three seasons in the Premier League. He also played in Major ...

, Watson became the club's interim head coach on 7 June 2013 following Yallop's dismissal. Watson's first win as an MLS head coach came on 15 June 2013 against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Watson was 11–5–3 during his 19 league games as interim coach, nearly rallying the Earthquakes to an MLS Cup Playoff berth. His mark 1.89 points per game was tops among all coaches after he took over. In addition to his success in MLS, Watson's squad advanced to the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals by winning Group 5. Following these successes, on 30 October 2013 the Earthquakes announced that they had signed Watson to a permanent contract, thereby removing his interim status. After a disappointing season in which the Earthquakes failed to qualify for the playoffs, Watson was dismissed in late 2014. He was hired as an assistant coach at

Orlando City Soccer Club Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

for their inaugural

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

season on 10 November 2014. He was fired by Orlando City in July 2016. On 18 January 2017, he was named assistant coach for Major League Soccer side

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

. On 28 October 2024, Watson joined

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

side

HFX Wanderers Halifax Wanderers FC, also written as HFX Wanderers FC, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) at the top of the Canadian soccer league system, and play their home ...

as the club's Senior Football Strategy Advisor. In this role, Watson would advise club president Derek Martin regarding player recruitment and football operations.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Watson goal''.

Coaching record

Honours

Charleston Battery *

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Canada *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

North American Nations Cup The North American Nations Cup was an association football competition organized by NAFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from North America. The tournament was held in 1990 and 1991. Canada, United States and Mexi ...

: 3rd place,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Individual *

Canadian Player of the Year The Canada Soccer Player of the Year award celebrates Canada's top male and female soccer players in recognition of their achievements with both the national teams and their respective clubs. Since 2007, voting has been conducted by Canadian coac ...

: 1997 *

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2024, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

: 2008

References

External links

* /

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2024, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Mark 1970 births Living people Soccer players from Vancouver 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian men's soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian people of Scottish descent Charleston Battery players Columbus Crew players D.C. United players Men's association football defenders Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players Major League Soccer players Montreal Supra players New England Revolution players Allsvenskan players Östers IF players Oxford United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Ottawa Intrepid players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer players University of British Columbia alumni USL First Division players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Walsall F.C. players Watford F.C. players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English Football League players Canadian soccer coaches San Jose Earthquakes head coaches A-League (1995–2004) players San Jose Earthquakes non-playing staff Orlando City SC non-playing staff Minnesota United FC non-playing staff HFX Wanderers FC non-playing staff