Warburton leaves after building the club’s sporting structure for its men’s, women’s and academy programs

Sporting Club Jacksonville (Sporting JAX) and Mark Warburton have agreed that Warburton will step down as President of Soccer, effective December 1, 2026.

Warburton joined Sporting JAX to build the club’s sporting foundation: its approach to player recruitment, its coaching philosophy and the pathway from the academy to the professional teams. He leaves with that structure in place across the men’s and women’s professional teams and the Sporting JAX Soccer Academy.

“When I arrived, my task was to build the club’s sporting structure: player recruitment, the coaching philosophy, and the pathway from the academy to the first team,” Warburton said. “Today that structure is in place, and we have excellent people throughout the department. After much thought, the club and I decided that it is the right time for me to seek a new challenge. I am sincerely grateful to the owners, staff, players and, above all, the fans, who made me feel at home from day one. I’ll be following the results closely and wish everyone at Sporting JAX every success.”

“Mark helped lay the foundation for soccer at Sporting JAX, and we’re grateful for the work he did to build it,” said Ricky Caplin, owner and executive chairman of Sporting JAX. “We thank him for his commitment to the club and to Jacksonville, and we wish him and his family the very best.”

The club will share further updates on its sporting leadership in the coming weeks.

Fans can find upcoming match details and ticket information at www.sportingjax.com, and can stay connected with the latest news, matchday updates, and behind-the-scenes stories, by following Sporting JAX across all social platforms.