Louis Lancaster (born 1981) is an English football coach, who is currently the First Team Coach at Shanghai Shenxin in the China League One. He was hand selected as one of 16 coaches to be on a two-year elite coaching development licence programme (The FA Level 5 Pro Licence) above the UEFA A licence run by the FA in an attempt to boost the number of English Premier League coaches beyond the current amount of six. Lancaster is one of the most qualified coaches in English football.
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Playing career
Lancaster started his career playing for Welwyn Garden City before joining Wealdstone FC. Lancaster also played for Hertford FC.
Coaching career
After his semi-professional footballing career, Louis Lancaster moved into coaching and worked at Arsenal Ladies team as the U16 Head coach and Reserve Team manager before working in the UAE at a Dubai-based football academy.
Lancaster returned to England after being hand selected as one of 16 coaches to be on a two-year elite coaching development licence programme (The FA Level 5 Pro Licence) above the UEFA A licence run by the FA in an attempt to boost the number of English Premier League coaches beyond the current amount of six. In May 2016 he graduated with a UEFA Pro Licence.
In June 2012, Lancaster was selected as the Youth Team Manager at Brentford F.C. where he spent 7 months. Ose Aibangee, the Brentford Football Club Director of Youth Development, described of Lancaster as "one of the most qualified coaches in the country and one of the most respected".
Lancaster also had spells working with Portsmouth FC and Watford FC. In July 2016, aged just 35, Lancaster was appointed as First Team Coach at Shanghai Shenxin, working with Gary White who he met on the FA Level 5 Pro Licence course.