Gavin Wilkinson

Club career

Wilkinson played defence for with the USL Portland Timbers from 2001 to 2006, adding assistant coach duties in 2005 and 2006. Wilkinson retired as an active player and was named Head Coach and General Manager for Portland Timbers in September 2006. During the 2009 season, he directed the Timbers to the Commissioner's Cup as the regular season champion and a league record 24 game unbeaten string (14-0-10), smashing the previous record of 16.

International career

Wilkinson played for the New Zealand national football team, the All Whites and collected 33 caps in official FIFA internationals, scoring 1 goal.

Wilkinson also volunteers for EastSide Timbers FC, a youth soccer club based in Gresham, Oregon that he helped found and formerly ran.

Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns

On 18 January 2010, Wilkinson was named Technical Director of the expansion Portland Timbers club in Major League Soccer (MLS), set to begin play in the 2011 season. He assumed those duties while still coaching the Timbers through the 2010 season. During his tenure as president of soccer, the team appeared in the MLS Cup Playoffs seven times, winning the 2015 MLS Cup and the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament. The team also won the Cascadia Cup in 2012, 2017 and 2022. The Timbers were consistently ranked on the Forbes list of the most valuable MLS clubs and Sportico's list of most valuable MLS clubs. The team entered the league in 2011 for a $35 million expansion fee and reached valuation of $390 million in 2019 and $635 million in 2021. Wilkinson was the general manager of the Portland Thorns, the Timbers' sister club in the National Women's Soccer League from its inception in 2013. Under Wilkinson, the Thorns were the most successful team in the NWSL, winning three championships between 2013 and 2021. The team had the highest attendance in the league, and was valued at $65 million. In 2021, Wilkinson was put on administrative leave from the Thorns and later replaced by Karina LeBlanc due to a scandal surrounding allegations that coach Paul Riley, originally hired by Wilkinson, had sexually harassed…

Wilkinson and his wife have two children.

Philanthropy

Wilkinson has been noted for his philanthropy. During his tenure, the Timbers and Thorns inaugurated their annual Stand Together Week, which hosts volunteer efforts and community outreach events in Portland. Wilkinson has volunteered with and supported nonprofit organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps support the wishes of critically ill children, Blessings in a Backpack, which provides nutritious meals to students, Solve Cleanup, which removes litter from public spaces, and student art programs.

Player

'Perth Glory

Most Glorious Player Award: 1996-1997 New Zeland

OFC Nations Cup: 1998; Runner-up, 2000

Manager

Portland Timbers

Cascadia Cup: 2012 USL-1 Coach of the Year: 2007, 2009