Liverpool have moved to strengthen one of the least glamorous but most essential departments at Kirkby, bringing in an experienced figure from across the Atlantic to oversee everything the first team wears, trains in and travels with.
Not every arrival under Andoni Iraola comes with a transfer fee or a shirt unveiling.
Some of the most important work at a club of Liverpool’s size happens long before kickoff, in kit rooms packed with boots, training gear, matchday strips and the logistics required to move it all around England and Europe.
The man taking charge of that operation is Charles Raycroft.
Orlando City confirmed that their Director of Equipment Operations is leaving after 11 years with the club to become Liverpool’s Head of Kit Operations.
The MLS side sent him off with a framed shirt and warm thanks for his time in the City Beautiful, the purple jersey bearing his name and the number 11, a nod to his years in Florida.
Raycroft’s CV stretches back almost three decades.
According to his professional profile, he served as Head Equipment Manager at D.C. United from 1997 to 2003, a period in which the club won MLS Cup in 1997 and 1999.
He then held the same role at Chicago Fire from 2003 to 2015, a spell that overlapped with the club’s 2003 Supporters’ Shield and its U.S. Open Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2006, as well as consecutive Eastern Conference finals in 2008 and 2009.
His time in Chicago ended when new general manager Nelson Rodriguez reshaped the backroom staff in late 2015.
Orlando moved for him in 2016, just a year after their MLS debut, and he became a central figure in building the club’s operations from the ground up.
He was part of the setup that lifted the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, the club’s first major trophy.
His standing in the profession goes beyond any single club.
Raycroft served as Secretary and later President of the Professional Soccer Equipment Managers Association, and has sat on its business development committee since 2023.
He has also delivered a talk at St George’s Park on the fundamentals of building a career in kit management, giving him an existing link to English football’s national coaching base.
His background also includes work with the United States Soccer Federation.
At Liverpool, he will link up with a department that includes kit managers Lee Radcliffe, Brendan McIlduff and Yinka Ademuyiwa.
Orlando, meanwhile, have promoted Chafik Tounzit to replace him as director of equipment operations.
It is not an appointment that will dominate the headlines, but with Liverpool facing a demanding fixture list under a new head coach, a seasoned operator with 29 years in professional football looks a shrewd addition behind the scenes.
The D.C. United dates come from a professional profile listing rather than a club announcement, so you may want to soften that line if your editor is strict on sourcing.
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