Charlotte's MLS Team Gets Quick Jump on Building Technical Staff

Charlotte's MLS expansion team is a few weeks old, and the club is wasting little time in mobilizing for its 2021 inaugural season.

Charlotte's MLS expansion team is a few weeks old, and the club is wasting little time in mobilizing for its 2021 inaugural season.

On the heels of naming its first sporting director, Charlotte has picked its first technical director, with Marc Nicholls leaving his job as Seattle Sounders director of player development for the nascent club on Tuesday. The move comes a week after Charlotte tabbed Zoran Krneta as its sporting director, with the club off and running as it builds from scratch.

Krneta will be responsible for "all on-field operations, recruiting coaches and professional support staff, identifying and signing players for the MLS roster, and creating a youth development academy and related youth player initiatives," according to the club. Nicholls, who has past connections to the region, will work in tandem with him to develop and construct the club.

“Marc’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we work together to build Charlotte MLS and get us ready for 2021,” Krneta said in a statement. “His expertise and outstanding record of achievements to date in developing young players, along with his deep understanding of the soccer landscape in the area, make Marc the natural choice for this role."

The hirings come at a busy time for club owner David Tepper, who just hired Matt Rhule to a lucrative contract as new head coach for his Carolina Panthers.

Charlotte will enter MLS in 2021 along with Austin FC, which has also been busy building its staff from scratch. It lured Josh Wolff away from his job as U.S. men's national team assistant coach to be its first manager, and it landed former USMNT great Claudio Reyna from NYCFC to be its sporting director.