Soccer Operations

SOCCER OPERATIONS

BOBBY SMYRNIOTIS
Head Coach & Sporting Director

Bobby Smyrniotis (SMEER-nee-OH-tihs) was named Forge FC’s first ever Technical Director and Head Coach on October 1, 2018. On May 1, 2023, Bobby expanded his role to Head Coach & Sporting Director.

He led Forge FC to four consecutive Canadian Premier League Final appearances being crowned Champions in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and was a finalist for CPL Coach of the Year in all four seasons. Under the leadership of Smyrniotis, Forge FC became the first CPL club to appear in Concacaf League, and Concacaf Champions League.

Under his tutelage, Forge FC has had numerous players recognized with individual awards, including Tristan Borges and Kyle Bekker who were named CPL Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Borges also won the Golden Boot and Best Under-21 Canadian Player in the CPL in 2019, goalkeeper Triston Henry took home the 2020 Golden Glove Award, and Achinioti-Jönsson with the Defender of the Year award in 2022.

Prior to Forge FC, Smyrniotis is best known for building Mississauga-based powerhouse youth soccer academy Sigma FC into one of the sport’s preeminent development programs in North America.

As Sigma FC’s Co-Founder, Technical Director and First Team Head Coach from 2005 to 2018, the native of Scarborough, Ontario, has led the program in producing more than 20 youth national team players, seven senior ‘A’ national team players as well as 16 players that have gone on to play professionally in North America and internationally, including Cyle Larin, Kyle Bekker and Manjrekar James of the Canadian Men’s National Team. Additionally, there has been at least one Sigma graduate in each of the 37 Canadian Men’s National Team camps since January 2013 and more than 140 Sigma graduates have gone on to play NCAA and U Sports soccer on scholarship.

As Head Coach of the Sigma FC First Team in League1 Ontario, the 39-year-old Smyrniotis led the academy’s top team as one the winningest clubs since the league’s inception five years ago, including a 28-2-8 record over the last two regular seasons. He was also named a coach in the men’s All-Star game in each of the past four seasons.

Prior to Sigma FC, Smyrniotis worked in the youth academy of Greek Super League power Olympiacos FC as an academy coach in 2003 and 2004. Along with his coaching duties, he supported the club’s youth Technical Director on curriculum development and presentations for both the club and the Hellenic Football Federation.

Smyrniotis holds a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) A coaching license and has spent years learning best practices alongside high-standing colleagues at pro clubs across Europe and North America. He has also implemented an internal coaching development program at Sigma FC for graduates to get involved working with youth players.

As a player, Smyrniotis played in both the US and Canadian university systems with the College of Charleston and York University, respectively.

Smyrniotis earned a Master of Science degree in Sports Management from the University of Louisville, graduating with honours at the top of his class. He completed his undergraduate studies at York University, where he completed a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Kinesiology & Health Science.

JELANI SMITH
Director of Soccer Operations

Jelani Smith is entering his fifth season with Forge FC having served as Manager of Football Operations since 2018. Smith worked directly under Costa Smyrniotis since the beginning of the club learning the ins and outs of running a top-class soccer organization.

Smith, attended Florida Gulf Coast University from 2009-2013, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and played for the Men’s soccer team. During his time with the FGCU Eagles, they won three A-Sun conference regular season championships and two conference tournament championships.

As a former Canadian U-20 national team player, Smith has made a name for himself in the world of soccer. Smith played for the Guyanese Men’s national team and was contributing member of the 2019 squad that qualified for the Concacaf Gold Cup, the only time in the Caribbean Nations history. In his time spent in Europe, Smith went on to play for Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga.

After returning to Canada, Jelani has since transitioned into a managerial role with Forge FC, where he utilizes his vast knowledge and experience in the sport to help guide the team toward success.

JOHAN ALBERT
Assistant Coach / Goalkeepers Coach

Johan Albert (ZHOH-hahn al-BAIR) joined Forge FC with over 24 years of coaching experience in football in his native France and helped Hamilton’s club secure back-to-back Canadian Premier League Championships. Albert’s goalkeepers recorded back-to-back clean sheets in CPL championship play, posting a 2-0 win over HFX Wanderers FC in the Final of the Island Games in 2020 and defeating Cavalry FC 2-0 on aggregate in the inaugural Canadian Premier League Finals.

Albert has worked closely with goalkeeper Triston Henry, who won the Canadian Premier League’s 2020 Golden Glove – awarded to the goalkeeper voted to be the best at his position based on performance and overall support for their Club. Henry started all but one of Forge FC’s 11 CPL matches in 2020 at The Island Games, recording a league-best five clean sheets including three consecutive shutouts to finish the season. In addition, he ranked first in the CPL among goaltenders in 2020 appearances (10), minutes (900) and recoveries (tie-79), and second in saves (23). Henry posted a 2-0 clean sheet win over HFX Wanderers FC in the 2020 CPL Final, and has yet to concede a goal in CPL championship play dating back to the two-leg Final in 2019 against Cavalry FC where he recorded a pair of 1-0 clean sheet wins.

The 44-year-old spent 22 years with French professional club FC Nantes, serving his first six years with the academy, coaching youth teams and goalkeepers.

Albert graduated to FC Nantes’ first team, where he would spend more than 16 years as an assistant coach focusing on tactical video analysis, scouting and analytics functions.

During his time with the first team, FC Nantes won the Ligue1 title once, were runners up in Cup Finals, progressed to the second round of Champions League and made the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup (now Europa League).

Albert has gained international coaching experience as part of the coaching staff of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2017 and 2018. He led the tactical analysis and opposition scouting efforts during the 2017 African Nations Cup and the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Albert holds a UEFA A license and goalkeepers license from the French Football Federation.

KYRIAKOS SELAIDOPOULOS
Assistant Coach

Kyriakos “Kyt” Selaidopoulos (sell-EH-daw-POO-luhs) joined Forge FC as an assistant coach in March 2021. Kyt has played a major role in the technical staff of Forge FC helping the club reach two consecutive finals in 2021 and 2022, taking home the Canadian Premier League title in the 2022 season.

The 45-year-old has been serving as the Technical Director for Club de Soccer Mont-Royal Outremont since 2008 and as Head Coach of the Canadian Futsal National Team since 2016.

Prior to his coaching career, the Montreal, Quebec native had a 15-year professional playing career (1995-2011) with stints in the USISL D-3 Pro League, National Professional Soccer League, USL A-League, Canadian Professional Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. Among his achievements was assisting the former Montreal Impact of the United Soccer League to a 12-game winning streak, an A-League title and a Voyageurs Cup in 2004.

Selaidopoulos also represented Canada internationally as a player on the Futsal National Team from 2003 to 2012 and at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2006.

DAVID EDGAR
Assistant Coach

David Edgar joined Forge FC as an assistant coach in April 2021, after making 28 appearances for the club over two seasons.

The 34-year-old appeared in 21 Canadian Premier League matches and seven Concacaf League matches from 2019-2020. The 6-3 defender was a part of Forge FC’s back-to-back Canadian Premier League championship teams, winning the North Star Shield in the league’s inaugural season in 2019 and again in 2020. Edgar announced his retirement from professional football in December 2020 after the club’s historic run in Concacaf League, where they became the first team from the CPL to advance to the quarterfinals.

On the international stage, the Kitchener, Ontario native made 42 appearances, including 37 starts, for Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team. His tenure included three cycles of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, two editions of the Concacaf Gold Cup and one edition of Concacaf Nations League Qualifying, registering four goals and three assists overall.

Prior to Forge FC, Edgar logged over a decade in the English leagues, tallying over 220 appearances with five different clubs, including Newcastle United (2006-09), Burnley FC (2009-14), Swansea City (on loan 2009-10), Birmingham City (2014-15) and Sheffield United(2015-16).

Edgar also had stints in Major League Soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps (2016-17) as well as in the United Soccer League with Nashville SC (2018) and Ottawa Fury (2018). Edgar had one final stint in England with Hartlepool United (2018-19) before returning home to join Forge FC in August 2019.