SAN DIEGO — This week, San Diego FC announced the appointment of Tyler Heaps as its first-ever sporting director and general manager.
Heaps, 33, who becomes the youngest sporting director in Major League Soccer, will oversee the club’s player recruitment and roster-building strategy, as well as manage scouting, player acquisitions, personnel management, salary cap management, and budget management.
Heaps previously worked with AS Monaco Football Club as the team’s head of analysis and insights and was the U.S. Soccer Federation’s director of sporting analytics and head of analysis. San Diego FC’s announcement credited Heaps with being a part of the scouting and analytics staff for the U.S. women’s national soccer team that won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙚. pic.twitter.com/4Bz7CiALcv
— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) August 15, 2024
Most recently, Heaps was the group head of recruitment and insights for Right to Dream, a youth football academy.
“I am tremendously proud and honored to be named the first sporting director at San Diego FC,” Heaps said. “In my time spent with Right to Dream across their group, there is no doubt that this project and the group of people involved fits with my background and values, and I am excited to continue to lead our sporting efforts here in San Diego.”
San Diego FC‘s inaugural training camp begins in January. Five players, including decorated Mexican star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, have signed deals for the team’s first-ever roster. The club says Heaps has been involved in those signings and the search for its first head coach.
San Diego FC Owner and Chairman Mohamed Mansour said in a statement, “Tyler has demonstrated during his time with Right to Dream that he is one of the brightest people working in world soccer today. He understands intimately the values of Right to Dream, which we will implement in San Diego, based around investing in youth while building a winning team that plays an attractive brand of football.”
