Sporting Kansas City continued their new era on Monday, appointing Raphael Wicky as the fifth permanent head coach in club history.
Wicky has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract through the 2027-28 MLS season with a club option for the 2028-29 campaign.
The 48-year-old Switzerland native is Sporting KC's first full-time head coach since they parted ways with longtime manager Peter Vermes in March 2025. He will report to David Lee, who was named the club's president of soccer operations & general manager in September 2025.
"We are thrilled to welcome Raphael as the next head coach of Sporting Kansas City," Lee said. "Rapha’s experience both domestically and internationally, along with his success at the highest levels of the game, made him the standout candidate during our search.
"He is a leader and a proven winner who will bring a humble, collaborative and hard-working approach to his role and strive to build strong relationships with our players and staff. Rapha’s teams are attack-minded, high-energy and possession-oriented – all qualities that represent the style of play we want to implement here in Kansas City.”
Wicky most recently oversaw Swiss Super League giants BSC Young Boys from 2022-24, leading the Bern-based club to the 2022-23 Super League and Cup double. During his tenure, they posted a 51W-17L-20D record across all competitions and scored 193 goals (2.19 per game).
Wicky brings MLS experience, serving as Chicago Fire FC's head coach from 2020-21. He also led the United States at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup after a second-place finish at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship.
After a decorated 16-year playing career for club and country, Wicky began his coaching career in Switzerland as a youth coach with FC Thun and Servette FC before joining Swiss giants FC Basel in 2013. He led Basel's first team during their 2017-18 season, highlighted by wins over Manchester United and Benfica in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
"I am very proud to be the new head coach of Sporting Kansas City,” said Wicky, who played for now-defunct MLS side Chivas USA in 2008.
"I am really excited to get started and get to know the team, the staff and the players. In my talks with David, we instantly had a good connection and felt very aligned in terms of culture and style of play.
"Sporting KC has always been a team that competed to win trophies and I feel that the club has all the ingredients to get back to where it belongs – great ownership, amazing facilities, a talented academy and a beautiful stadium with fantastic fans."
Sporting KC have significant roster flexibility during Lee's first offseason, looking to refresh the squad after last year's 15th-place finish in the Western Conference (28 points; 7W-20L-7D). They placed 27th in the overall league table, struggling for results under Vermes and former interim coach Kerry Zavagnin. Â
Spanish midfielder Manu GarcĂa and Serbian striker Dejan Joveljić return as Designated Players. Other standouts include several homegrown talents – goalkeeper John Pulskamp, midfielder Jake Davis and forward Dániel SallĂłi.
Sporting KC's 2026 campaign begins on Feb. 21 at the San Jose Earthquakes (10:30 pm ET | Apple TV). The club last made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in 2023.
