Former Cobh Ramblers men's boss Gary Hunt has been named the new head coach of Waterford Women FC ahead of their inaugural campaign in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division.
Preparations are being ramped up ahead of the Blues' first foray into the division; they announced last June that they intended to become the 12th team in the league.
Hunt is no stranger to club, having first joined the coaching set-up in 2019 as the head of youth development, where he oversaw Waterford's Under-13s, Under-15s, Under-17s and Under-19s boys and men's sides.
The UEFA Pro Licence holder made the step up to the men's first-team set-up for the 2022 season as a first-team coach. After Ian Morris's departure, he took charge of the side alongside David Breen for six games (winning all six) before Danny Searle came in.
In 2023 Hunt was heavily involved in Keith Long's backroom set-up as Waterford earned promotion to the Premier Division. He left the club to take the Cobh Ramblers job in the 2024; they finished eighth in the First Division.
Now he's back at Waterford for a fresh challenge.
"I'm delighted to be back," he said. "An opportunity came over the last few weeks, and it was something I wasn't hesitant about taking. I’m really looking forward to getting started with the group, and taking Waterford into a new era.
"I have a background here in the academy and first team where I’ve had some brilliant successes on the pitch, and I’m looking forward now to hopefully carrying that over to the women’s side.
"What success looks like for us over the first year might be a bit different but I’m really looking forward to taking this group and setting up something for Waterford that has been a long time coming."
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