Declan Jogi promoted to Sporting KC Academy Director

Sporting Kansas City announced today that Declan Jogi has been promoted to Director of the Sporting KC Academy, having served as the club’s Academy Head Coach since 2015.

Jogi will become the third Academy Director in Sporting KC history, after Jon Parry held the role from 2008 until his retirement earlier this year. Jogi, who coached Sporting KC U-13 from 2015 to 2017, has managed the U-14 for the last five years and brings a wealth of youth football experience to his new position. He has also played an integral role in developing and mentoring Sporting KC Academy players of all ages, positioning them for success on and off the field.

Reporting to Sporting KC Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes, Jogi will lead a robust Academy team consisting of head coaches at U-12 to U-19 levels, goalkeeping and fitness coaches, coaches and doctors, as well as a director of player relations, team administrator , Nutritionist and Scout. In addition, he will work closely with a large network of Academy Affiliates in the Midwest and continue to oversee the club’s Center of Excellence youth program.

Sporting signed 16 homegrown players with MLS contracts during Jogi’s tenure and received the inaugural MLS Academy of the Year award for outstanding player development in 2018. Jogi has also coached several Academy products competing professionally for Sporting KC II in the USL Championship and MLS NEXT Pro.

With Jogi at the helm, the Sporting KC Academy U-14 players were crowned winners of the 2019 LA Galaxy Cup and the 2021 US Youth Futsal National Championships, while also enjoying a historic run to the semi-finals of the 2018 US Youth Soccer National Championship . Its teams have excelled on multiple competitive platforms since 2015, including MLS NEXT, US Soccer Development Academy, US Youth Soccer and prestigious national tournaments that bring together the country’s top youth clubs.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Jogi played college soccer at King University in Tennessee, where he is a member of the school’s Sports Hall of Fame. He then enjoyed a successful professional career with the Charlotte Eagles of the United Soccer League and Acadia United and Dynamos FC of the Zimbabwe Premier League.

After ending his playing career, Jogi began coaching youth players in East Tennessee at FC Fusion and FC Dallas TRI, where he served as the coaching director for the Pre-K through U-14 age groups. While in Tennessee, Jogi was on the staff of the State Olympic Development Program (ODP) and was named Tennessee Boys Competitive Coach of the Year in 2014.

Jogi holds a US Soccer A License and an Elite Formation Coaching License from the French Football Federation. Jogi and his wife Cynthia live in Kansas City, Missouri with their three sons Declan, Alastair and Crispin.