Former national team defender Carmelina Moscato named next coach of NSL’s Ottawa Rapid FC

Former Canadian women’s national team defender Carmelina Moscato has been named the next head coach of Ottawa Rapid FC through the 2028 season, the club announced Monday.

The 42-year-old Toronto native will join the Northern Super League club later this year after leaving her role as head coach of Al Qadsiah FC’s women’s team in Saudi Arabia.

Moscato will begin preparations for the 2027 season before taking over from Katrine Pedersen after the current NSL campaign.

Pedersen, who announced July 17 she was leaving the club, will remain behind the bench through the rest of the regular season and any playoff run.

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Ottawa sits atop the NSL standings with a 10-2-3 record and 33 points through 15 matches, six points ahead of the Montreal Roses.

Moscato made 94 appearances for Canada, helping the team win bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.

Moscato later coached FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark before serving as head coach and technical director of Tigres UANL Femenil, which she guided to the Liga MX Femenil Apertura championship in 2022. She also worked as an assistant coach with NWSL’s Racing Louisville FC.

Before her club coaching career, Moscato worked as Canadian Soccer Business’s manager of women’s professional football development from 2019 to 2020.

Moscato also has ties to Ottawa, having played three seasons for the Ottawa Fury of the USL W-League during her playing career.

“Ottawa is a city that has played an important part in my soccer journey, and the opportunity to return and help lead this club into its next chapter is very meaningful to me,” Moscato said in a statement.

She was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame in 2023.