Swansea City has confirmed the appointment of Mason McClelland as the club’s new under-18s head coach. McClelland’s coaching career extends over 20 years, and he has held a variety of positions including technical director, assistant coach, and manager. His career began at Bolton Wanderers, where he was highly involved in their UK-based and international program before joining Fleetwood Town’s Under-18s squad. He subsequently moved to the United Arab Emirates, where he spent seven years as technical director before becoming head coach of Dubai City.

McClelland took over as head coach of Gibraltar’s FC Bruno Magpies in June 2024. He oversaw the club’s Uefa Conference League triumph over Derry City and was in charge of their subsequent match against FC Copenhagen. McClelland feels his extensive coaching and youth development experience will be of great value to Swansea City as he settles into his new post in South Wales. “Over the course of my career I have a lot of experience in youth development, then in the last six or seven years of my career I’ve had a lot of experience working with senior players,” McClelland told ESPN.

“I’ve had that full range of working within academy set-ups, I understand the pathway to get players through to the under-18s, to the under-21s and then to the first team.

“I sincerely believe that my expertise can benefit the players’ development. I believe that individual growth is critical at this age. “One thing I appreciate about Swansea is that there is a lot of movement among age groups, which allows players to step out of their comfort zone. “My job is to help the under-18s develop and prepare them for professional football, working alongside a fantastic set of staff to aid them both on and off the pitch. “I’ve already seen a handful of the players and watched some of them play at a level for the under-21s, and I was really impressed. They seem to be a terrific group, and I can’t wait to start working with them them fully.”

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