I Was Effectively Homeless After Getting Sacked - Stoney

Casey Stoney was only meant to beryllium returning to England temporarily past June for a ceremonial erstwhile she recovered herself stuck successful nan country, on pinch her family, incapable to spell backmost to their location successful California.

Upon landing connected British soil, nan erstwhile England skipper was informed by her supplier that she had been sacked arsenic caput coach of NWSL nine San Diego Wave.

"When I sewage fired, it terminated our visas pinch contiguous effect whilst I was successful nan UK, beautiful overmuch rendering maine and my partner homeless, pinch 3 children," she tells BBC Sport.

As she had been extracurricular of nan US erstwhile her sacking happened and her visa was limited connected her work, she had nary measurement of returning without uncovering different sponsor.

That led to a turbulent fewer months for nan 42-year-old, who was near questioning whether she moreover wanted to support moving successful football.

Now nan erstwhile Manchester United leader is taking connected world guidance for nan first clip successful her caller domiciled arsenic Canada coach, and is yet backmost to doing what she loves - getting retired connected nan training transportation and moving pinch her players.

Stoney, who won 130 caps for England and captained Great Britain astatine nan 2012 Olympics, had been successful complaint of San Diego Wave for astir 3 years aft resigning arsenic Manchester United manager successful 2021.

The NWSL nine were a caller franchise erstwhile she became caput coach and she led them to 3rd spot and past apical spot during nan first 2 seasons.

They doubly reached nan semi-finals of nan end-of-season play-offs, which crowns nan league's champions, but her 3rd play had not continued connected nan aforesaid trajectory pinch conscionable 3 wins aft 14 games.

She saw nan occupation arsenic a semipermanent project. She had knowledgeable a achy spell isolated from her partner, Megan, and 3 children - twins Teddy and Tilly and youngest kid Willow - erstwhile she first moved to nan US but they had yet resolved their visa issues, enabling them to beryllium reunited, and group up their family location successful California.

"It took 22 months to get them retired there, we were 22 months apart, we weren't moreover retired location a twelvemonth [together] and I mislaid my job," she says.

"If I'm honest, I didn't deliberation I deserved to suffer my occupation either, truthful that made it moreover tougher, pinch nan successes that we had, we conscionable had a small dip. It wasn't moreover thing major.

"So to beryllium treated successful that way, aft everything that had been done and sacrificed and everything that had been achieved, it was really, really difficult to swallow connected a individual level, but it was much what happened to my family.

"I person 3 young children, they were 9 and six astatine nan time, they didn't person a home. So that, for me, is inexcusable to do to a family."

The time her children were expected to beryllium backmost astatine schoolhouse successful August successful San Diego pursuing their summertime break came and went, truthful Stoney took connected home-schooling herself.

It was a play she describes arsenic "one of nan hardest times successful my life".

She says: "It did make maine mobility if I wanted to enactment successful nan crippled because if nan crippled chews you up and spits you retired for illustration that, aft everything that we had sacrificed to beryllium there, and aft what I had achieved successful a short abstraction of time, and what we had achieved arsenic a club, it did make maine mobility nan game.

"I sewage offers rather quickly aft nan announcement and I said nary to each of them, whether they were correct aliases wrong, because I wanted to return time. I needed to make judge I sorted our lives out.

"My privilege was my family [and] really do we get backmost to San Diego."

It took 4 months for nan family to get caller visas, based connected Stoney's consultancy work, enabling them to return to nan US and "our lives". They had relied connected family successful England to supply a tile complete their heads successful nan interim.

"[The children] missed 2 and a half months of education. They missed a batch of their life during that time."

She besides had a batch of clip for self-reflection and took nan opportunity to sojourn different clubs arsenic she reassessed her priorities.

"It conscionable helped maine get to a constituent wherever I was fresh to get backmost successful [to football] and I was very keen to get backmost in. At first I couldn't person thought of thing little that I wanted to beryllium progressive successful and it conscionable took a spot of clip to heal nan wounds."

The ex-England defender was spotted astatine her erstwhile nine Arsenal, who were looking for a replacement for Jonas Eidevall while she was retired of work, while different Women's Super League clubs besides had vacancies during that time.

But past on came nan Canada job.

At first she was unsure whether she wanted to move into world shot and time off down what she "loves", which is moving pinch players time to day.

Yet nan first conversations proved appealing and she recovered herself successful a lengthy question and reply process lasting immoderate 3 to 4 months.

"I really liked that it was extensive," she says. "It meant that their hiring process was thorough. I sewage to question and reply them arsenic overmuch arsenic they interviewed me."

That included speaking to nan head of nan men's team, erstwhile Leeds leader Jesse Marsch, who had already made nan modulation from nine to nan world game.

And she was impressed – by nan organisation's activity led by main executive Kevin Blue, nan civilization of nan team, and nan talent of nan players, positive Canada were happy for her to proceed surviving successful California if she took nan role.

"When I interviewed for this job, Kevin was very clear that I didn't person to move," she said.

"That's been really, really beneficial for america arsenic a family. I don't deliberation group understand erstwhile you return connected a caput coach role, and I understand group opportunity you're successful a privileged position, but it's nan effect connected your family it has.

"I had young children that conscionable didn't understand what was going connected [when she was sacked] - tons of tears, tons of heartache, that I felt for illustration I'd contributed to that, which was difficult.

"There were jobs unfastened successful nan UK astatine nan clip erstwhile I didn't person a job. There were immoderate I would person been willing in, immoderate I wouldn't person been willing in, but arsenic soon arsenic I sewage progressive successful this process it became clear I was really willing successful this [and] I was only committed to 1 thing."

She is taking complete a state who are classed sixth successful nan world but person knowledgeable their ain turmoil.

During past summer's Paris Olympics, successful which Canada reached nan quarter-finals, 2 members of nan team's coaching unit were sent location for flying a drone complete a training session held by New Zealand, their opponents successful a group game.

Their caput coach Bev Priestman, different Englishwoman, was given a year-long prohibition by world governing assemblage Fifa and Canada - who had won Olympic golden astatine nan delayed Tokyo 2020 Games - were docked six points.

Priestman "did scope retired and wish maine luck" says Stoney, but they person had nary different connection and nan caller Canada coach is keen to attraction connected nan future, pinch nan 2027 World Cup connected nan horizon.

She met nan mostly of her players for nan first clip complete nan past 2 weeks arsenic Canada competed successful a four-team tournament, nan Pinatar Cup, successful Spain, which they won pursuing a 7-0 thrashing of Chinese Taipei, a 2-0 triumph complete Mexico and a 1-1 tie pinch China.

"This squad excites me," she says. "I do deliberation they've sewage truthful overmuch potential.

"What they were capable to execute past twelvemonth successful difficult circumstances shows what they're tin of, but there's truthful overmuch much to come."