Bristol Rovers appoint Weaver as Academy Manager

It is Weaver’s first role in English football after a career coaching abroad.

His first job was as Head Coach of Warriors, who he led to the title in Singapore in 2014, before he had a series of positions in Switzerland.

He was Under-21 Assistant Coach at Lausanne and Under-18 Head Coach at Grasshopper Zurich, before joining FC Basel as Head of Football Periodisation, which involved planning players’ loads during training sessions.

After returning to Lausanne as Under-18 Head Coach, he became Assistant Head Coach of the first team at Yverdon Sport – helping lead them to promotion to the Swiss Super League.

He returned to Basel to work in the Academy as Head of Coaching and Methodology and then as Under-17 Head Coach.

‘Value to the club’

Rovers currently operate a Category Three Academy and were 49th in TGG’s Academy Productivity Rankings for last season – a rise of 21 places from the previous year.

The club want to progress to becoming a Category Two Academy, which they say would allow them to run an Under-21s team and increase contact time with young players.

Speaking to club media last year, Anthony said: “It is a huge thing for Bristol Rovers to have such an important Academy with the players coming through the system that we have in recent years and previously. It shows how much value it actually means to the football club.”

Anthony played 190 times for the Pirates during six years at the club and was part of the side which won promotion in the League Two play-off final in 2007.

After retiring, he had a brief spell coaching in the club’s Academy and after a short stint coaching Swansea’s Under-18s, he returned to Rovers in November 2021 as Head of Academy Coaching. He was promoted to Academy Manager in July 2022.

He spent the second half of last season in the role while also acting as First Team Coach – a role he moved into permanently this summer.