Laura Kaminski has quickly turned an unexpected career detour into one of the most promising storylines in women's football, guiding Brann to a cup triumph and the top of the Norwegian league table just months after being dismissed by Crystal Palace.
The English coach took charge of Brann in January, arriving in Bergen after a turbulent departure from Palace, where she was sacked in February 2025 during the club's debut Women's Super League season. Despite the setback, Kaminski has wasted little time making an impact on the west coast of Norway, a place she says she has grown fond of even amid its notoriously wet weather.
Brann's season has not been without disappointment, as the club missed out on Women's Champions League qualification following a 4-0 second-leg defeat to Austria Vienna. However, Kaminski steered the team to a cup final win over Aalesund, delivering her first major European trophy as a head coach. Brann now sit four points clear at the summit of the domestic league with seven matches remaining, putting them firmly in contention for the title.
In taking the role, Kaminski followed two fellow Britons into the Brann dugout — Martin Ho and Leif Smerud, the latter of whom also succeeded her at Palace after her exit. She admitted that a move abroad was never something she had actively planned, given her background almost exclusively in English football.
"I'd never really thought about it because I'd always been involved in jobs in England, and then this opportunity came up which meant I was going to be stretched in terms of European football. Also coming to an ambitious club that wants to fight for a title, that was a massive pull," Kaminski said.
Before accepting the Brann job, Kaminski took time away from football to process her Palace exit, calling it a period of reflection after what she described as a steep learning experience. She had made history at Palace by becoming a first-time head coach in 2024, having previously worked as an assistant at Tottenham, Charlton, and with England's youth national teams.
Kaminski explained that she turned down other opportunities in England following her Palace departure because they did not feel like the right fit. When Brann's approach came through her agent, she said things moved rapidly.
"Sometimes you don't really realise what is going on until 24 hours down the line, you're moving to Norway. One minute you're in London and 48 hours later you're on a plane, but I snapped it up because for me to get to a WSL club fighting for a title was going to be difficult," she said.
Having earned her UEFA A licence back in 2018, Kaminski has spent more than 15 years working her way up the coaching ladder, often balancing multiple roles and financial sacrifice in the sport's earlier, less professionalized era for women's coaches. She said she always believed she could reach a level she had rarely seen represented by women when she started out.
Reflecting on her time at Palace, which ended in relegation despite a brief upturn in form under Smerud, Kaminski described the experience as invaluable despite its difficulties. She credited former chairman Steve Parish and the club's staff for helping shape her as a manager, while acknowledging that some aspects of the difficult spell were beyond her control and others she might have handled differently.
Now settled in Norway, Kaminski has embraced the adjustments that come with the job, including more frequent air travel for fixtures and a football culture she senses is a source of national pride. She remains as devoted to the game as ever, often studying other leagues for tactical inspiration.
Having already won promotion in England with both Tottenham and Palace, Kaminski says her focus now is proving she can achieve success on foreign soil as her methods continue to evolve at Brann.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.