Colorado Rapids appoint Fran Taylor Sporting Director, Ruth Fahy VP of Club Administration & Compliance

COMMERCE CITY, Colorado — The Colorado Rapids announced today that the club has appointed Fran Taylor Sporting Director, hired Ruth Fahy as Vice President of Club Administration & Compliance and added Drew Moor as Elite Player Development Coach.

In addition, Chris Zitterbart was promoted to Chief Scout, Gabbie Pelloni rejoined the club as Director of Team Administration & Operations, James Roeling rejoined the club as Director of Soccer Development, Gabriel Pinto rejoined the club as Director of Emerging Talent & Youth Recruitment has promoted Matt Pfeffer to Director of Analytics and Andrew Kewley to Futures Program Director.

“Fran has played a key role in our success on the pitch and in advancing our player identification, recruitment and squad-building strategy in recent years, so we are delighted to extend this well-deserved promotion and secure his future at the club,” said he Pádraig Smith, President of the Colorado Rapids. “We are also delighted to strengthen our football operations group with the addition of Ruth as our new vice president of club administration and compliance. Ruth’s skills and experience on and off the field will greatly enhance our expanded football operations division. And of course we are delighted to move Drew from the field to the front office as we look to leverage his wealth of experience and familiarity with our club and league to help develop our elite prospects.”

Taylor joined the Rapids in 2018 after eight years as vice president of analytics at StatDNA, a software development and analytics company acquired by Arsenal Football Group in 2013. He played a key role in developing the Rapids’ rostering and player recruitment strategy, providing stat-driven insights and improved scouting processes and networks.

Fahy comes to Rapids with six years of legal experience, including at the Football Association of Ireland and in sports law positions at Irish law firms Ogier Leman and William Fry. Fahy, a former Women’s League of Ireland footballer who holds a UEFA B license, played in the Women’s Champions League in Europe from 2011-2016 as well as in Ireland’s elite league, including at Castlebar Celtic, Galway WFC and Wexford Youths WFC, who won the domestic treble with Wexford. She resumed her playing career at Galway WFC in 2021 before serving as the club’s CEO.

Moor, the fifth all-time all-time leader in MLS games, spent ten seasons with the Rapids while playing, winning the 2010 MLS Cup with the club. A Dallas, Texas native, retired after the 2022 season after an 18-year playing career that included winning two MLS Cups, a Supporters’ Shield and three Canadian championships, as well as an MLS All-Star selection with the Rapids in 2015 . Moor will serve as Rapids Analyst & Host in addition to his current role as Elite Player Development Coach.

Zitterbart has been a member of the club since 2013 and most recently served as Director of Scouting before being promoted to his new role as Chief Scout. Zitterbart played a key role in identifying and recruiting many of the Rapids’ talented young players, including Braian Galván and Max Alves.

Pelloni joins the club from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she served as Athletics Assistant Director of Athletic Operations and Brand Management for the school’s Olympic sports. During her ten years in that role, Pelloni oversaw the administrative responsibilities of the university programs for women’s soccer, golf, lacrosse and men’s and women’s tennis. During her time at CU Boulder, she also served as tournament director for NCAA postseason and conference championships.

Roeling returns to the Rapids as Director of Soccer Development after serving as Assistant Sporting Director for Tim Howard’s Memphis 901 FC in the USL Championship for over two years. He was previously the senior manager of team operations for the Rapids before moving to Memphis.

Pinto joins the club from Portuguese powerhouse Sporting Clube de Portugal. A UEFA B license holder, Pinto previously worked as a scouter and coach in Portugal, India, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates.

Pfeffer joined the Rapids in 2019 as a data analyst after spending six years doing professional hockey statistical analysis, including stints with Hockey Canada, the San Jose Sharks, the Montreal Canadiens and the Nashville Predators. Since joining the club, Pfeffer has spearheaded the development of the Rapids’ proprietary data analysis software, which serves as a fundamental part of the club’s player identification and recruitment strategy.

Kewley joined the Rapids in 2018 after serving as director of coaching at the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club. He played a key role in the 2020 launch of the Colorado Rapids Academy Futures program, a program designed to support the development of top U-12 players.

The club also made the following updates to its technical staff: Andrew Butler was promoted to Academy Talent ID Manager, Kyle Porter was promoted to Strength & Conditioning Coach and Boyd Kirk was promoted to Team Operations Manager. In addition, the club has hired Nicole Johnson as SafeSport Manager, Liam Creedon as Data & Systems Architect, Eddie Wilding as Academy Staff Coach, Brandyn Bumpas as Academy Goalkeeper Coach and Andre Hilf as Club Language Specialist & Team Operations Coordinator.