# Martin Foyston

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**Martin Foyston** (born 22 September 1982) is an English [football](/source/Association_football) manager.

Foyston began his career as a video analyst at [Fulham](/source/Fulham_F.C.) in 2005. Having obtained [UEFA coaching licences](/source/UEFA_coaching_licences), he moved to Sweden in 2013, and worked as assistant manager at several clubs and the [Norway national team](/source/Norway_national_football_team). His first senior head coach job was at [Östers IF](/source/%C3%96sters_IF), winning promotion from [Superettan](/source/Superettan) in his first season in [2024](/source/2024_Superettan), but being sacked during the [Allsvenskan](/source/Allsvenskan) season in [2025](/source/2025_Allsvenskan). He finished the year at [Sarpsborg 08](/source/Sarpsborg_08_FF), where he lost the [Norwegian Football Cup](/source/Norwegian_Football_Cup) [final](/source/2025_Norwegian_Football_Cup_final).

## Career

### Fulham

Born in [Kingston upon Hull](/source/Kingston_upon_Hull), Foyston was a youth player at hometown club [Hull City](/source/Hull_City_A.F.C.) before studying film and media production at college and university.[2] After graduating in 2005, he joined [Premier League](/source/Premier_League) club [Fulham](/source/Fulham_F.C.) as a match analyst.[2]

Foyston credited [Roy Hodgson](/source/Roy_Hodgson), who arrived as Fulham manager in late 2007, as being the best coach in England and inspiring him to become a manager.[2] Having earned his [UEFA B licence](/source/UEFA_coaching_licences) and started the A licence, he made the decision in 2013 to emigrate to Sweden, his wife's country.[2] He deliberately went without having a job lined up, and Fulham player [Damien Duff](/source/Damien_Duff) gave him a copy of the novel [*The Alchemist*](/source/The_Alchemist_(novel)), which resonated with his situation.[2]

### Assistant in Scandinavia

Foyston immediately turned down an analyst job at [Allsvenskan](/source/Allsvenskan) champions [IF Elfsborg](/source/IF_Elfsborg), believing the job would be too easy.[2] He got an assistant manager job at [Djurgårdens IF Fotboll](/source/Djurg%C3%A5rdens_IF_Fotboll) using the influence of former Fulham player [Brede Hangeland](/source/Brede_Hangeland), who had played under new head coach [Per-Mathias Høgmo](/source/Per-Mathias_H%C3%B8gmo) for [Norway under-21](/source/Norway_national_under-21_football_team).[2] When Høgmo was hired by [Norway's senior team](/source/Norway_national_football_team), Foyston followed him, initially in tandem with his job at Djurgården. He quit his post with the Swedish club due to a lack of agreement with new manager [Pelle Olsson](/source/Pelle_Olsson).[2]

Norway failed to qualify for [UEFA Euro 2016](/source/UEFA_Euro_2016) and made a poor start to [2018 FIFA World Cup qualification](/source/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification), leading to Høgmo's resignation.[2] Foyston had one more year on his contract with the [Norwegian Football Federation](/source/Norwegian_Football_Federation), but he moved to [Strømsgodset Toppfotball](/source/Str%C3%B8msgodset_Toppfotball) in the country's [Eliteserien](/source/Eliteserien), under manager [Tor Ole Skullerud](/source/Tor_Ole_Skullerud).[2]

In December 2018, Foyston was given his first head coach role, returning to Sweden to lead [Hammarby Fotboll](/source/Hammarby_Fotboll)'s under-19 team.[3] A year later, he returned to assistant duties at [farm team](/source/Farm_team) [IK Frej](/source/IK_Frej).[4] He began 2021 by being appointed to an assistant job with [Finland under-21](/source/Finland_national_under-21_football_team), and in June he moved to [BK Häcken](/source/BK_H%C3%A4cken) as second-in-command to Høgmo.[5]

### Östers IF

At the end of 2023, Foyston was hired in his first head coach role at a senior club, [Superettan](/source/Superettan) club [Östers IF](/source/%C3%96sters_IF).[6] On 9 November 2024, in the last fixture of [the season](/source/2024_Superettan), his side won 2–1 away to champions [Degerfors IF](/source/Degerfors_IF) to be promoted in second place, ending 11 years outside the Allsvenskan.[7]

On 30 March 2025, Foyston's first top-flight game was a 4–3 loss away to [IFK Norrköping](/source/IFK_Norrk%C3%B6ping).[8] He was sacked on 4 September with the team in 14th place, in the relegation play-off position; his last game was a 4–0 loss to Hammarby.[9]

### Sarpsborg 08

On 25 September 2025, Foyston was hired as the new head coach of [Eliteserien](/source/Eliteserien) side [Sarpsborg 08](/source/Sarpsborg_08_FF), until the end of the [season](/source/2025_Eliteserien).[10] He was the third manager of the year as the team came 9th, short of a target to qualify for Europe.[11] On 6 December, the club played the [Norwegian Football Cup](/source/Norwegian_Football_Cup) [final](/source/2025_Norwegian_Football_Cup_final), which they had qualified to before his appointment. They lost 3–1 to [Lillestrøm SK](/source/Lillestr%C3%B8m_SK) in his last match.[12]

## Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure Team From To Record Ref. P W D L Win % Östers IF 27 December 2023 4 September 2025 [13] Sarpsborg 08 25 September 2025 6 December 2025 [14] Total —

## References

1. ["Martin Foyston"](https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe846013/). World Football. Retrieved 9 September 2025.

1. Harvey, Tom (5 December 2017). ["The film student who took up video analysis and ended up coaching Norway"](https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-set-pieces-blog/2017/dec/05/martin-foyston-norway-film-student-fulham-video-analyst). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. ["Bajen värvar engelsk tränare med bakgrund i Djurgården"](https://fotbolldirekt.se/allsvenskan/just-nu-bajen-varvar-engelsk-tranare-med-bakgrund-djurgarden/) [*Bajen* sign English coach with background at Djurgården] (in Swedish). Fotboll Direkt. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. Carlsson, Pierre (27 January 2020). ["Klart: Janne Mian basar över Frej 2020 – förstärks av ytterligare Bajentränare"](https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/division-1/klart-janne-mian-basar-over-frej-2020--forstarks-av-ytterligare-bajentranare/) [Official: Janne Mian is boss of Frej 2020 – joined by additional *Bajen* coaches] (in Swedish). Fotboll Skanalen. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. ["Bästa vänner – så bygger tränarduon "nya" Häcken"](https://www.gp.se/sport/fotboll/basta-vanner-sa-bygger-tranarduon-nya-hacken.c24ff007-f438-4ce3-89fd-89b6825b14a4) [Best friends – this is how the coaching duo builds the "new" Häcken] (in Swedish). *[Göteborgs-Posten](/source/G%C3%B6teborgs-Posten)*. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. Kristofferson, Daniel (27 December 2023). ["Avslöjar: Martin Foyston tar över Östers IF"](https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/Q7VvQA/superttan-avslojar-martin-foyston-tar-over-oster) (in Swedish). *[Aftonbladet](/source/Aftonbladet)*. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. de Ron, Fredrik (9 November 2024). ["Så ska Martin Foyston fira Östers uppflyttning: "Hoppas de tog med tillräckligt med öl""](https://fotbolldirekt.se/superettan/sa-ska-martin-foyston-fira-osters-uppflyttning-hoppas-de-tog-med-tillrackligt-med-ol/) [This is how Martin Foyston will celebrate Öster's promotion: "I hope they brought enough beer"] (in Swedish). Fotboll Direkt. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. Elg, Filip (31 March 2025). ["Foyston: "Vi blev sårbara runt egen box med vår mittfältstrio""](https://www.smp.se/2025-03-31/foyston-vi-blev-sarbara-runt-egen-box-med-var-mittfaltstrio/) [Foyston: "We became vulnerable around our own box with our midfield trio"] (in Swedish). *[Smålandsposten](/source/Sm%C3%A5landsposten)*. Retrieved 20 August 2025.

1. Söderlund, Tobias (4 September 2025). ["Martin Foyston får sparken av Öster"](https://www.expressen.se/sport/fotboll/allsvenskan/martin-foyston-far-sparken-av-oster/) [Martin Foyston gets fired by Öster] (in Swedish). *[Expressen](/source/Expressen)*. Retrieved 9 September 2025.

1. Rustad Østmoe, Eline (25 September 2025). ["Martin Foyston tar over Sarpborg 08: –⁠ Gleder meg"](https://www.vg.no/sport/i/Gy4nk6/martin-foyston-er-ny-trener-i-sarpsborg-08) [Martin Foyston takes over Sarpborg 08: "I'm looking forward to it"] (in Norwegian). *[Verdens Gang](/source/Verdens_Gang)*. Retrieved 2 December 2025.

1. Kalnes, Petter (30 November 2025). ["Seriesesongen endte som den pleier - 90 minutter på Ullevaal avgjør om fotball-året likevel blir fantastisk"](https://www.sa.no/seriesesongen-endte-som-den-pleier-90-minutter-pa-ullevaal-avgjor-om-fotball-aret-likevel-blir-fantastisk/o/5-46-1919464) [The league season ended as usual - 90 minutes at Ullevaal will decide whether the football year will still be fantastic] (in Norwegian). *[Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad](/source/Sarpsborg_Arbeiderblad)*. Retrieved 2 December 2025.

1. Kalnes, Petter (6 December 2025). ["Anledningen ble for stor for både spillere og trenere"](https://www.sa.no/anledningen-ble-for-stor-for-bade-spillere-og-trenere/o/5-46-1923990) [The occasion was too big for both the players and the coaches] (in Norwegian). *[Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad](/source/Sarpsborg_Arbeiderblad)*. Retrieved 6 December 2025.

1. ["Oster: Results"](https://no.soccerway.com/team/oster/KQEAENtF/results/). *Soccerway*. Retrieved 11 October 2025.

1. ["Sarpsborg 08: Results"](https://www.soccerway.com/team/sarpsborg-08/UPrP2SMS/results/). *Soccerway*. Retrieved 11 October 2025.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Martin Foyston](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Foyston) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Foyston?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.