MELISSA PHILLIPS APPOINTED NEW LONDON CITY LIONESSES HEAD COACH

Today (Friday 16th October), the London City Lionesses announced that Melissa

Phillips has been appointed as the club’s new Head Coach. Melissa had been in

caretaker charge of the First Team and oversaw the first victory of the season,

against London Bees, last Sunday.

Melissa said: “I am incredibly humbled by the opportunity to lead the London

City Lionesses First Team in a greater capacity. For me, leadership isn’t a

matter of your title but rather the impact and influence you have on an

organisation. My role since joining London City has been to help drive the

vision, values and ambitions of the club forward.

“I am grateful for Diane and the Board’s belief in me and the opportunity to

continue doing so as the next Head Coach. I feel we have only just scratched

the surface of our potential and am excited for the journey ahead.

“I have so much respect and appreciation for the players continued

commitment to the club’s ambitions; they are truly a resilient group and

growing each day together. My aim is to create an environment that each

player thrives in, focused on holistic player development and elevating our

current culture and football philosophy.”

Diane Culligan, Chairwoman, said: “Mel has been excellent in every aspect since

she joined us, so the decision to promote her to Head Coach was a very easy

one. Mel was one of the US’ most highly-regarded young coaches and, in time,

we are confident that she will become one of the UK’s top managers.

“Specifically, I would like to thank Mel for her efforts over the last week

following Lisa’s departure. We were all delighted to register our first win of the

season and are sure that the team will build momentum over the coming

weeks.”

Melissa Phillips joined the London City Lionesses this summer. She moved from the

University of Pennsylvania’s coaching programme in America. There, Melissa was

the Women’s Team Assistant Coach – a role she held for five years, which was also

the most successful period in their history.

Phillips’ young Penn team won plaudits for their high-scoring, defensively resolute

performances. This culminated in them being crowned the 2018 Ivy League

Champions. Before Penn, Melissa was Assistant Women’s Coach at the University

of San Francisco and Head Women’s Coach at California State University

Bakersfield.