Huntsville, Ala. (Jan. 22, 2024) – Huntsville City Football Club announced today the appointment of Matt Cairns as the Club’s new Director of Soccer Operations. Cairns fills the position left by Liam Doyle, who joins parent club Nashville SC as Director of Soccer. Moreover, Huntsville City FC announced the addition of Christophe Berra, Zachary Herold and Fabio Hernandez to the club’s coaching staff.
“Matt has a tremendous amount of experience in the professional soccer landscape, both in the U.S. and abroad,” said Mike Jacobs, Nashville SC and Huntsville City FC General Manager. “He is somebody I’ve always admired and wanted to work with, and we are excited to add him to our club.”
Cairns joins Huntsville City FC after spending the last five years as the Director of Soccer for Topnotch Management in Minneapolis, Minn., where he represented players across Major League Soccer and the USL Championship. Cairns was born and raised in St. Albans, England before graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2013. After graduating, Cairns worked as a licensed agent and intermediary at Skylet Andrew and MLC Sport before joining Topnotch Management.
Additionally, the club announced the appointments of Christophe Berra and Zachary Herold as assistant coaches, and of Fabio Hernandez as goalkeeper coach.
“These are great hires whose experience and character will provide immediate impact for our club both on and off the field,” said Jack Collison, Huntsville City FC Head Coach. “Bringing in coaches of this caliber underscores the commitment made by our group to empower leaders on the pitch who are good soccer minds and great people dedicated to building our program and moving our team forward in a positive direction.”
Berra joins Huntsville from the Scottish Premiership where he was a first-team coach for Livingston FC. Before that, Berra made 560 appearances across Scotland’s and England’s Premier Leagues with childhood club Heart of Midlothian and Wolverhampton Wanderers, respectively. Berra also played with Ipswich Town before returning to Heart of Midlothian and finally finishing his career as a player-coach for Raith Rovers in Scotland. Internationally, Berra was capped 41 times by Scotland, scoring four goals.
Herold, a former Generation adidas player from Port St. Lucie, Fla., joins Huntsville from the Atlanta United FC Academy where he coached with Huntsville City FC Head Coach Jack Collison. As a player, Herald was drafted by Toronto FC in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft but was diagnosed with a heart condition that unfortunately forced the end of his playing career. Herald, who represented the United States in the 2009 U-17 FIFA World Cup(TM), immediately launched his coaching career and spent six years working with the New York Red Bulls Academy before moving to Atlanta.
Hernandez joins Huntsville from Chattanooga Red Wolves of the USL League One where he served as a goalkeeper coach since 2022.
Joining Head Coach Jack Collison and the new hires on the technical staff for the 2024 season will be Analyst Matt Batista, Athletic Trainer Luis Rodas, Performance Coach Josh Stewart, Team Administrator Caylor Feltman, and Equipment Manager Tanner Smoot.
The first chance to see Huntsville City FC in 2024 is the inaugural “Huntsville City FC Blastoff Battle Invitational” on Feb. 16 – 18, 2024 at Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium. You can find more information about the tournament and how to get tickets here.
Huntsville City FC 2024 season tickets are now on sale to the public by visiting MLSNextPro.com/HuntsvilleCityFC/Tickets or by calling 256-864-6426, ext. 2.
QUOTE REPOSITORY:
Mike Jacobs, General Manager of Nashville SC and Huntsville City FC: “Matt has a tremendous amount of experience in the professional soccer landscape, both in the U.S. and abroad. He is somebody I’ve always admired and wanted to work with, and we are excited to add him to our club.”
Matt Cairns, Huntsville City FC Director of Soccer Operations: “I am thrilled to be joining Huntsville City FC and the Nashville SC organization. Huntsville is an incredibly exciting and thriving soccer market and I can’t wait to build on the club’s inaugural season success. The state of Alabama is no stranger to sporting success, and I will be working every day to bring them another champion.”
Jack Collison, Huntsville City FC Head Coach: “These are great hires whose experience and character will provide immediate impact for our club both on and off the field. Bringing in coaches of this caliber underscores the commitment made by our group to empower leaders on the pitch who are good soccer minds and great people dedicated to building our program and moving our team forward in a positive direction.”
Christophe Berra, Huntsville City FC Assistant Coach: “My family and I are excited to be moving over from Scotland to join Huntsville City Football Club. The club has everything in place to be successful on and off the pitch and I can’t wait to get started and the season to kick off.”
Zachary Herold, Huntsville City FC Assistant Coach: “I am extremely excited to be joining Huntsville City FC this upcoming season and look forward to building on last year's success.”
Fabio Hernandez, Huntsville City FC Goalkeeper Coach: "I am very excited to get the season started with the club. I am looking forward to seeing the Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis packed week in and week out.”
