Canada are back on the big stage at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™. Fresh from the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2024 tournament in the Dominican Republic, the young Canadians confirmed their place at the 2025 edition, set to kick off in Morocco on 17 October.
Canada Soccer recently appointed Jennifer Herst to lead them in their campaign. The 35-year-old English coach will now be guiding a junior national team for the first time in her career.
“My first [reaction] was just elation, I suppose. I was really happy,” admitted Herst, who was brought up in Warrington, near Liverpool. “It was a tough interview process. I don’t know how many candidates there were in total, but it was quite a tough, three-step process. And I was very motivated to get the job.”
It’s no surprise that Herst embraces her role as a coach. The job gave her something to smile about at a difficult moment in her life. “I actually have a heart condition. So I had to retire from playing football myself at quite a young age when I was about 14,” explained the ex-Manchester City player. “I was just missing football so much and missing being involved and being in a team.”
It was at that point that Herst found her calling, giving her the feeling of a new lease on life. “My mum encouraged me to become a coach,” Herst said. “She felt like I was made for it. So I was a little bit apprehensive at first because I wanted to play. But actually, I just ended up falling in love with coaching and enjoying it even more than playing.”
From Liverpool Girls Academy to neighbouring Everton, via Manchester City’s dugout, Herst has amassed an impressive CV through valuable experience with youth teams. Having long focused on goalkeeper coaching, she also worked for the English Football Association (FA), had a spell in Wales, and eventually made the move to Canada to join the women’s senior team’s coaching staff from 2022 to 2025. Now, she has switched to the U- 17 side as head coach.
During Concacaf qualifying for Morocco 2025 in Nicaragua, Herst served as the assistant to interim coach Gary Moody. This first-hand experience gave her valuable insights into the group of young players she now has on her hands. Nevertheless, following her appointment, the new coach made it clear that her arrival represented “a new beginning”, without completely wiping the slate clean.
“I came in only a week-and-a-half before the first camp that we had, so it’s been quite the whirlwind getting in,” recalled the coach. “We wanted it to be a fresh start and a fresh opportunity for new faces to come in, whether that’s from a staffing or a player perspective.”
While the players who helped secure qualification clearly have a major head start in terms of joining the Morocco squad, Herst has been working hard over the past few weeks to scout new talent. She set off to meet young players in Toronto and Vancouver, giving Canadian women footballers one last chance to join the cause heading for North Africa.
Canada will face Nigeria, Samoa and France in Group D, and while she naturally has high hopes for her team’s progress, Herst’s primary focus will be on helping her players develop.
“Of course, results matter, but development is the priority,” said Herst. “It’s our biggest responsibility to prepare the players for U-20 and eventually for playing for the senior national team. It’s giving the players that ‘playing a World Cup experience’ because that massively accelerates their growth. That experience isn’t something you can replicate. So going to a World Cup for a young player is phenomenal.”
Although Canada’s U-17 women’s team has only made it past the quarter-finals once, seven years ago in Uruguay, they will be back among the world’s elite with a new-found vigour embodied by their resilient coach. Needless to say, she has come a long way in the 20 years since she was forced to give up her greatest passion.
“Everything works out well for a reason,” she said.
This could well be the single most valuable lesson she passed on to her team in Morocco.
Photos courtesy of Concacaf & Canada Soccer
