Sartini Names Coaching Staff For New Wanderers Era

Former Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini has named is full coaching staff for his first-ever Canadian Premier League season.

The 49-year-old Italian was unveiled as the new Halifax Wanderers head coach just over a month ago, clocking in as a high-profile recruitment with plenty of Major League experience.

Sartini’s first assistant coach will aid him with plenty of first-hand experiences from both a player and coach perspective in Canada’s top flight. Former Valour FC assistant Daryl Fordyce has signed on with the side.

The veteran midfielder had captained Valour FC as a player, hanging up his boots after accruing over 500 professional appearances in an 18-year-career. He spent the last three years as an assistant coach to Philip Dos Santos at Valour, also taking charge as the Winnipeg-based side’s lead set-piece strategist.

The Wanderers have also secured the return of Jed Davies, who will join Sartini as his second assistant coach while also reprising his role of Halifax’s head of youth development, overseeing the Wanderers Development Program that fields both U-21 and U-18 teams.

Davies had spent the last season as head coach of the University of Prince Edward Island Men’s and Women’s teams.

“I’m really excited to get started with this incredible staff that brings both a knowledge of the CPL and a lot of great qualities that complement each other,” says Wanderers head coach and general manager Vanni Sartini. “Jed’s capacity as both a coach and a developer of young talent is incredible, and Daryl was a great player in the league who has transitioned well as a coach with a real talent for implementing set pieces.”

There are several returning faces for Halifax’s 2026 Canadian Premier League season, including goalkeeper coach Jan-Michael Williams. The former Trinidad and Tobago international was the first-ever CPL player to transition to a coaching role, spending the last six seasons as a goalkeeper coach. He will also work with the youth goalkeepers for the club’s U-21 and U-18 development teams.

“Jan is a club staple as a coach and has done a lot of amazing work to help build the Wanderers on and off the pitch, and as head of goalkeeping, will have a massive impact on developing both current and future keepers in our team,” adds Sartini.

The Halifax Wanderers have also confirmed the return of head of performance Nick Edwards and head of analysis Alex Sheppard, who were both with the team last season.

Shifting in roles is Matt Fegan, the club’s former sporting director who is now taking on the mantle of Vice President, Football Operations. In a club statement, the Wanderers say he will work closely with Sartini to oversee off-field support for the first team while working on player pathways through the Wanderers Development Program.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Sartini will take the lead on player recruitment with Fegan stepping out of that purview.

The club has confirmed that technical team members Giovanni Petraglia, Jessie Burgins, and Oliver Hewish, who all assisted Patrice Gheisar last year, have left the side as part of Sartini’s transition in.

See Also: Halifax Wanderers Release Eleven, Retain Two In Latest Update

Sartini is the third head coach of Halifax Wanderers, with the club having employed Stephen Hart and Patrice Gheisar previously.

Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques