NEWS – The first-ever AFC Toronto head coach will be Marko Milanovic. Milanovic will serve as the inaugural head coach of the team. Milanovic was born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia and has dual Canadian and Serbian citizenship.
AFC Toronto Head Coach Revealed: Marko Milanovic
Milanovic has connections to the North Toronto Soccer Club (NTSC). The NTSC is also where many of the ownership group members come from. This is what Milanovic said about his coaching philosophy (Source: North Toronto Soccer):
From that same article, it was revealed that he has a degree in the University of Commerce and has an A Licence & Youth Licence.
Milanovic right now is the head coach of League1 side, the North Toronto Nitros and has helped players get to collegiate level in the U.S. and Canada as well as the professional careers in Europe (Source: TMU Bold). He also some experience as a player.
Sylvia Forbes Was Revealed as Assistant Coach
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Along with the new AFC Toronto head coach being revealed, the club’s assistant coach, Sylvia Forbes, was also revealed. Born and brought up in Whitby, Ontario, Forbes is a 37-year-old former player, who previously played with the CANWNT20 (2006) and the CANWNT17 (2004, 2006) teams.
The former player majored in Movement and Sport Sciences with Perdue University. She also played for the Purdue Boilermakers with Perdue University. After redshirting her rookie year, the 5’9 player’s first two playing season was played as a forward, while in her last season she played as a defender.
She ranked third on her team in goals scored as a freshman and was fifth with the team in shots in her sophomore year. Also, despite making the transition to a defender, Forbes was able to make her presence known, as she was the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week (9/15) and then played the third-most minutes on her team.
Source: Purdue Boilermakers Website
Forbes is currently the Director of Soccer with the Ajax Soccer Club as of right now.
Billy Wilson is the new Sporting Director
A day before this announcement was made, Wilson resigned as the Executive and Technical Director of North Toronto Soccer.
This is what the CEO of AFC Toronto, Helena Ruken, said about Wilson (Source: AFC Toronto LinkedIn Post):
Wilson will be one of many people who works or worked for the North Toronto Soccer Club, which has ties with the AFC Toronto ownership group as well.
What To Look Forward to Next
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Player signings are likely still a bit off as only two teams have revealed their head coaches, and only three teams in the league have official team names confirmed.
There is however some news to come on August 15, 2024, as the NSL Ottawa X Account will make some sort of announcement. NSL Ottawa seemed to be the quietest of the six Northern Super League teams, so it will be exciting to see what they have in store for everyone.
READ MORE: The Northern Super League is Born
As for AFC Toronto, two of the three people came from the North Toronto Soccer Club. Also, it will help the players of AFC Toronto to know that their head coach and assistant coach has experience playing the game themselves. In addition to that, Forbes has experience switching from a forward to a defender, something that can come in handy when coaching the players of AFC Toronto.
Photo Credit: AFC Toronto X Account of a Marko Milanovic Headshot on August 7, 2024.
