DENVER (AP) — Former Manchester City women's coach Nick Cushing has been named head coach of the expansion Denver Summit in the National Women's Soccer League.
The Summit, who join the league next season, announced the move on Wednesday.
"Our team will play an attacking form of the game that excites our stadium and makes things difficult for our opponents. We want to create a winning team as well as a great experience for all of Colorado," Cushing said in a statement.
Cushing took over as interim coach at Manchester City in March after Gareth Taylor was fired. He had previously served as head coach of the club from 2013 to 2020, winning the Women's Super League title in 2016 and the FA Cup in 2017.
A native of Chester, England, Cushing was also former coach of the men's Major League Soccer club New York City FC from 2022-24.
“In order to be successful right away, you need people that have experienced environments like this, have built organizations, and have had success,” Summit general manager Curt Johnson said. "Nick brings world-class experience, a passion for player development, and a tactical vision that will excite Summit supporters. He’s won major trophies and is the right leader to guide us into our first season and beyond.”
Last month, the Denver team announced its name, crest and branding as it ramps up for its first season. The Summit and the expansion Boston Legacy will bring the league to 16 teams.
Denver was awarded a franchise last December. The team will play in a temporary home for two seasons before moving to a new 14,500-seat purpose-built stadium in 2028. The club has also broken ground on a training center in Centennial.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing gestures during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Inter Miami, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.
Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.
The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”
Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.
To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.
Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.
Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
