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Head Coach

U-20 WNT Head Coach Jitka Klimkova   Jitka Klimkova

Head Coach: U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team

Born: August 20, 1974, in Kyjov, Czech Republic

Hometown: Moravany, Czech Republic

Jitka Klimkova was named as the head coach for the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team in April of 2017. In the full-time position, she will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the U-20WNT program as she prepares to the team for CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup which will be staged in France.

Klimkova will also manage the integration and programming of the Under-18 and Under-19 Women’s National Teams during the World Cup cycle to maximize the evaluation and movement of players between the age groups for training camps and matches.

Jitka Klimkova joined U.S. Soccer in January of 2015 as Development Coach for the USA’s Women’s Youth National Teams in one of three newly created positions and worked mostly as the head coach of the U.S. Under-19 Women’s National Team, giving her an excellent base of knowledge and experience to move to her current position. She also served as the head scout for the U.S. team at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea.

Klimkova has more than 20 years of coaching and playing experience at the national team, professional and youth club levels in the New Zealand, Australia, the USA and her native Czech Republic.

She came to U.S. Soccer from New Zealand Football Federation, where she was head coach of the New Zealand U-17 Women’s National Team and an assistant coach for the Ferns U-20 Women’s National Team over 2013 and 2014. She was also the assistant coach for the senior New Zealand Women’s National Team in 2014.

At the professional level, she coached Canberra United FC in the Australia W-League from 2011-2013, winning the league title in 2012 when she was voted the Coach of the Year. Prior to coaching in Australia, she was club director and head coach for FC Slovácko Uherske in the Czech Republic First Division. She also worked extensively with the Czech Republic Football Federation, serving as the head coach for the U-19 Women’s National Team from 2009-2011 and for the U-17 Women’s National Team from 2006-2009.

In 2007 and 2008, she coached at the USYSA Regional 1 camp in Rhode Island, working with the U-13 and U-15 age groups.

She started her coaching career as an assistant with DFC Comlex Otrokovice in the Czech Republic First Division from 2003-2005 before becoming head coach for 1.FC Slovacko women’s team from 2006-2011. She also managed the youth girls’ teams during that time.

As a midfielder, she represented the Czech Republic from 1999-2003 while playing her club soccer for DFC Compex Otrokovic from 1995-2003 and for Slávia Holíč from 1991-1995.

She also has experience in coaching education, teaching UEFA licensing courses at various levels in the Czech Republic. Klimková, who will reside in Southern California, earned her Bachelor of Science in Coaching & Sport Management at the University of Olomouc in 2009. She holds a UEFA “Professional” Coaching License and speaks Czech, German and Russian.

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