From Belfast to the World Cup: Mick McDermott's coaching journey

Mick McDermott, a 52-year-old football coach from Belfast, is experiencing a full-circle moment at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As a performance co-ordinator for Ghana, he is based in Providence, Rhode Island — the same city where his football journey began decades ago on a university scholarship.

“To go from Belfast, to Rhode Island, to the Middle East, to Glentoran, to Qatar, to Cobh Ramblers, to Ghana and back to Rhode Island in 30 years is an interesting story and I'm glad to get the chance to share it,” McDermott told BBC Sport NI.

McDermott is part of Carlos Queiroz's backroom staff, a partnership that began in 2011 with Iran and has continued through spells with Qatar and now Ghana. This is McDermott's second World Cup; he previously worked with Queiroz for Iran's campaign in 2018. But this tournament holds special significance because it brings him back to Rhode Island, where he played college soccer and met his wife, Karla, who was a volleyball player at the same university.

“It's unbelievable, I had no idea this job was going to appear, which is common in football. I lived in Rhode Island, I played football at the university on a scholarship. Karla played volleyball, that's where we met and got married, so I lived here for six years. I haven't been back in a long time, I have seen some friends out here and hoping to see more, but it's a small world,” he said.

From teaching to coaching

McDermott originally trained as a school teacher and was about to accept a teaching position when he took a coaching role at the University of Oregon. That decision set him on an unexpected path. “I graduated as a school teacher and was about to take a teaching job, but I took a coaching role at the University of Oregon and from there, out of the blue, through a connection, I got the offer to go to Abu Dhabi and it changed my life,” he recalled.

A long-standing partnership with Queiroz

McDermott's relationship with Queiroz began in 2011 when the Portuguese coach was considering the Iran job. A mutual connection — McDermott's former head coach in the USL, who was Queiroz's long-term goalkeeper coach — facilitated an introduction. “I was already in the Middle East, working in Abu Dhabi for a club team and the conversations started. I met Carlos in Doha, we talked and myself and two other staff members joined Carlos and accepted the Iran job and that was the start of it,” McDermott explained.

After Iran, McDermott did not follow Queiroz to Colombia or Egypt. Instead, he returned to Northern Ireland to manage Glentoran, where he won the Irish Cup. He later had a stint with League of Ireland First Division side Cobh Ramblers before rejoining Queiroz for Qatar and now Ghana. “Here we are again, another brilliant project with a brilliant football nation. It's an opportunity I don't think anyone can say no to, to work with the Ghana football team and Carlos again, it's been brilliant,” he said.

Last-minute preparations

Unlike many World Cup teams that have months to prepare, Queiroz and McDermott faced a compressed timeline. Queiroz was appointed in April, and the full 26-man squad did not assemble until late May. They had just one full training session before a 1-1 friendly draw against Wales on 2 June, followed by a flight to the US the next day.

“The logistics and travel were already in place, we tweaked them a little. A big group of our players didn't arrive until 30 May and we didn't have a full training session until 31 May. We had two days, played Wales and flew the next day to the US. We had to submit our 26-man list before we even played Wales but the players have been brilliant to work with,” McDermott said.

Despite the rushed preparations, Ghana opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto, courtesy of a 95th-minute winner from Caleb Yirenkyi.