Charlotte FC hires Karl Hooper as assistant coach

CHARLOTTE FC

Charlotte FC hired Karl Hooper as an assistant coach with a focus on set pieces. Hooper spent six seasons with Aston Villa, including five as an assistant coach with the Under-21 team.

Charlotte FC has a new set piece guru on the coaching staff.

Karl Hooper has joined the club as assistant coach with a focus on the set pieces and individual development plans for players. A native of Birmingham, England, Hooper spent the last six seasons with Aston Villa, including five as assistant Under-21 and professional development phase coach, where he worked to align playing styles, player pathways and set pieces. 

“He’s a really, really good coach,” Charlotte head coach Dean Smith said. “Knows how to get the best out of individuals, how to improve them, how to help develop them. He has good rapport with players, but on the offensive set piece side as well. He's worked very close with Austin McPhee, Aston Villa’s set piece coach who I worked closely with, and he’s now the Portugal set piece coach as well. He’s come to me with glowing terms from people who have worked with him as well.”

Hooper’s arrival coincides with improved production in set pieces compared to 2025. Through five matches, Charlotte (2-2-1) converted four set piece or free kick scenarios into goals, a pace that exceeds last season’s five goals and eight in 2024. Set pieces are dead ball plays such as corner kicks, throw-ins, penalty kicks or goal kicks. 

“They weren't great offensively,” Smith said. “We didn’t score anywhere near what we should have, and I think it can be skewed a little bit sometimes as well. You’re only as good as your delivery, so you've got to make sure you've got good delivery, but you’re also only as good as the people who want to head the ball inside the penalty box as well or get on the end of things. They’re two things that we feel that we could improve on. The quality that [Ashley Westwood] and [Pep] Biel can put into the penalty boxes is outstanding but then the other side of it is working to get the right people in the right places at the right time to go on score goals.” 

Hooper launched his coaching career at Birmingham City FC in 2010 in their academy program. He moved up the ranks to professional development phase coach, which included individual development plans for Under-18 players as well as coach education and evaluation for youth development and foundation phase coaches over a seven-year stretch. 

“Karl is a great addition to Dean’s staff having extensive knowledge in both developing young players and game-planning set pieces,” Charlotte general manager Zoran Krneta said in a statement. “We are excited to continue to add quality coaches to our organization, and with over 15 years of experience coaching in Europe, Karl is a great compliment to our existing technical staff.”  

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