Laura Harvey

Laura Kate Harvey (born 15 May 1980) is an English football manager and former player who currently manages Seattle Reign FC of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

She holds USSF "A" and UEFA "A" coaching licenses.

Harvey previously managed the United States women's national under-20 soccer team, Utah Royals FC, Arsenal, and Birmingham City.

She was an assistant coach with the United States women's national soccer team as well as England's U-17, U-19 and U-23 national teams.

Harvey was named assistant coach for Birmingham City L.F.C. in 2002.

In 2007, she was named team manager.

In 2008, Harvey joined Arsenal L.F.C. as its first team coach.

The following year, she was hired full-time as Assistant Academy Director and Reserve Team Manager.

In February 2010, Harvey was hired to replace Tony Gervaise as manager for Arsenal L.F.C. Of her hiring, Harvey said, "It's a really proud moment for me. In women's football, especially domestically, it doesn't come any bigger than Arsenal. When you set out to coach and you know this is your dream and your love, you want to make it the best it can possibly be and in my eyes it doesn't get much bigger than this."

Harvey was named FA WSL Manager of the Year in 2011 after guiding Arsenal to win the league title, FA Cup, and Continental Cup.

In 2011, Harvey was named FAWSL Manager of the Year after guiding the team to win the league title, FA Cup, and Continental Cup.

She finished her tenure with Arsenal in 2012 having led the team to three consecutive league titles, two Continental Cups, and one FA Women's Cup.

Harvey led the Gunners to the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals twice.

On 21 December 2012, Harvey was named head coach of Seattle Reign FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League, a new professional league in the United States.

The Reign faced a tough first half of the season and went 0–9–1 in their first ten games after all three of their American allocated players were unavailable: Hope Solo was out for wrist surgery and recovery, Amy Rodriguez was out for the season due to pregnancy, and Megan Rapinoe was returning mid-season after a six-month stint for Olympique Lyonnais.

With the return of Solo, Rapinoe, and some additional lineup changes made during the early summer, the Reign turned their regular season record around and finished the season in seventh place with a 5–14–3 record.

In August 2013, Harvey signed a contract extension with the Reign through 2017.

She was named NWSL Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, and 2021.

She was the second woman to earn a U.S. Soccer Pro License.

Harvey is the first coach in NWSL history to coach 200 regular season games.

, she holds the NWSL record for most regular season wins.

Harvey grew up in Bulkington, a village in Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England.

She attended The George Eliot School in Nuneaton.

Her father was a full-time high school teacher and a football coach who worked for The Football Association (FA) and Coventry City F.C. during her childhood.

She would often attend men's Premier League games with her father where he taught her and her brother to "not just watch the ball, but everything else that's going on."

Harvey began playing football at a young age on boys teams and in neighborhood pickup games along with Laura Bassett as there was no youth girls league available.

As a teenager, Harvey played for Coventry City L.F.C. for six years.

She graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a bachelor's degree in Sports Studies.

At age 22, Harvey ruptured her ACL while playing for Birmingham City; she subsequently retired from playing.

She previously played for Wolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C.

During the 2014 season, Harvey led the Reign to set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games during the first part of the season.

During the 16 game stretch, the team compiled a 13–0–3 record.

The Reign finished first in the regular season clinching the NWSL Shield for the first time.

After defeating the Washington Spirit 2–1 in the playoff semi-finals, the Reign were defeated 2–1 by FC Kansas City during the championship final.

Following the regular season, Harvey was named the league's Coach of the Year.

In December 2014, she was named FA Coach of the Year by the FA, and was a finalist for the FIFA World Coach of the Year.

During the 2015 season, Harvey led the Reign to finish first in the regular season clinching the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive season.

After defeating the Washington Spirit 3–0 in a playoff semi-final, the Reign were defeated 1–0 by FC Kansas City during the championship final in Portland.

Following the 2015 regular season, Harvey was named NWSL Coach of the Year for the second consecutive time.

She left the club in November 2017.