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James Thomas: Pre-season in an academy
Video recording. Former Newcastle United Women academy manager James Thomas talks to Elite Soccer technical director Ben Bartlett about pre-season in an academy
Recorded 30 June 2026
About James
(correct at time of recording)
James Thomas was most recently academy manager at Newcastle United Women.
Prior to his appointment at Newcastle, he was first team manager at Gwalia United Women who compete in the FA WNL Southern Premier Division.
Before Gwalia, Thomas was academy manager at Bristol City Women, the club where he was formerly U21 head coach. During his time at the helm of the academy he oversaw eight professional contracts and 23 national team call-ups.
Thomas has worked internationally, as head coach of the Trinidad & Tobago Women’s National team and assistant coach of the Wales Women’s National teams.
He has worked with senior internationals including Lauren Hemp, Katie Robinson, Lily Woodham and Loren Dykes.
Thomas holds the UEFA A Licence and the UEFA Elite Youth A Licence.
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