Leah Blayney

Leah Blayney
Personal information
Full name Leah Janine Blayney
Date of birth (1986-07-04) 4 July 1986
Place of birth Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
Wentworth Falls United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 Auburn Tigers 19 (3)
2007–2009 Central Connecticut Blue Devils 61 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
NSW Sapphires FC
2008 Sydney FC 2 (0)
2008–2009 SoccerPlus Connecticut (11)
2010 Boston Aztec (10)
2010–2012 Canberra United FC 4 (0)
2011 → Boston Breakers (loan) 5 (0)
2012 Eskilstuna United DFF 5 (1)
International career
2004 Australia U19
2006 Australia U20
2003–2009 Australia 16 (0)
Managerial career
2016 Western Sydney Wanderers FC (women) (assistant)
2016–2019 Australia U20 (women) (assistant)
2019–2024 Australia U20 (women)
2025–2026 Japan (women) (assistant)
2026– Calgary Wild FC (women)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leah Janine Blayney (born 4 July 1986) is an Australian soccer coach and former player, who currently serves as head coach of Northern Super League club Calgary Wild FC.

Early life

Blayney played youth soccer with Wentworth Falls United.[1]

College career

In 2005, Blayney moved to the United States to attend Auburn University, where she played for the women's soccer team.

In 2007, she began attending Central Connecticut State University, joining their women's soccer team.[2] In 2007, she was named to the All-Northeast Conference First Team and the All-New England First Team.[2] In 2008, she was against named to the All-Northeast Conference First Team.[2] In October 2009, she earned Northeast Conference Player of the Week honours.[3] At the end of the 2009 season, where she finished as the leading scorer in the Northeast Conference, she was named the Northeast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, All-Northeast Conference First Team, and All-Northeast Region First Team.[4][5]

Club career

Blayney began her senior career with NSW Sapphires FC in the Australian Women's National Soccer League.[1]

After moving to the United States to play at the college level, she briefly returned to Australia to play with Sydney FC in the Australian W-League[1]

In 2008 and 2009, she played with SoccerPlus Connecticut in the Women's Premier Soccer League.[6][7] In 2010, she played with the Boston Aztec, finished as the joint-leading goalscorer in the WPSL with 10 goals.[8][9] She helped the Aztec win the 2010 title, earning Final Four- MVP honours and WPSL East Player of the Year.[10]

In December 2010, she again returned to Australia to join Canberra United FC, having agreed to the contract in October.[10] During the Australian off-season, she joined the Boston Breakers, suffering an injury causing her to miss the start of the next season with Canberra.[11]

In December 2011, she agreed to a contract with Swedish club Eskilstuna United DFF in the second tier Division 1 Söderettan, joining the club in April 2012.[12] After playing in the first five matches of the season, scoring one goal, she suffered an injury and agreed to a mutual termination of her contract in July, in order to return to Australia.[13]

International career

She played for Australia at the 2004 FIFA Under 19 Women's World Championship and 2006 FIFA Under 20 Women's World Championship.[14][15]

Coaching career

After retiring due to injury, Blayney took up coaching. She coached the New South Wales U15 at the 2014 Australian National Championships.[1] She later became an assistant with the Western Sydney Wanderers in the W-League, while also coaching youth teams with the Macarthur Rams FC.[16]

Beginning in 2016, she became an assistant coach with the Australia women's national under-20 soccer team, while spending some time as second assistant with the senior team, coaching the Austrlia U23 at the 2018 AFF Women's Championship, and holding lead scout roles for Australia for both the 2016 Olympics and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.[17] In July 2019, she was named the head coach of the Australia U20.[17]

In January 2025, she became an assistant coach with the Japan national team.[18] After winning the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, she departed her role in April 2026.[19]

In July 2026, Blayney was named the head coach of Canadian Northern Super League club Calgary Wild FC.[20] She coached the Wild to their first win of the 2026 season on 8 August, a 3-2 victory over Vancouver Rise FC.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Leah Blayney". Western Sydney Wanderers FC. 17 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Leah Blayney CCSU profile". Central Connecticut Blue Devils.
  3. ↑ "Seniors Blayney and Casey Earn adidas/Northeast Conference Honors on Monday". Central Connecticut Blue Devils. 26 October 2009.
  4. ↑ "Leah Blayney and Mick D'Arcy Earn Major Northeast Conference Women's Soccer Awards on Thursday Night". Central Connecticut Blue Devils. 6 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "Women's Soccer Seniors Leah Blayney and Karise Hilt Named NSCAA All-Region". Central Connecticut Blue Devils. 17 December 2009.
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120519031631/http://www.wpsl.info/stats/index2008b.php?category=goals
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120519025620/http://www.wpsl.info/stats/index2009b.php?category=goals
  8. ↑ "Leah Blayney Leads the WPSL in Scoring This Summer". Central Connecticut Blue Devils. 12 July 2010.
  9. ↑ "2010 statistics". Women's Premier Soccer League. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Blayney to join United in December". Canberra United FC. 18 October 2010.
  11. ↑ "Blayney to miss season start". Canberra United FC. 18 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Från Australien till Eskilstuna" [From Australia to Eskilstuna]. Damfotboll. 6 December 2011.
  13. ↑ Vilhelmson, Frida (3 July 2012). "Leah Blayney lämnar United" [Leah Blayney leaves United]. Ekuriren.
  14. ↑ Leah Blayney – FIFA competition record (archived)
  15. ↑ "Former Westfield Matilda's coaching career". Football Federation Australia. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Former Westfield Matilda's coaching career". Football Australia. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Leah Blayney named new head coach of Young Matildas". Asian Football Confederation. 17 July 2019.}
  18. ↑ Pisani, Sacha (11 February 2026). "Aussie coach's 7 powerful words & why one of our brightest minds joined a world champ". Football360.
  19. ↑ "Aussie coach departs Japan role after Asian Cup triumph, sends beautiful farewell message". Football360. 7 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Wild FC hires Australia's Blayney as new head coach". TSN. 6 July 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Wild rally to beat Rise 3-2 and net first win of NSL season". The Canadian Press. 9 August 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
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