Football Association coaching manager Richard Bate

Richard “Dick” Bate, who has died aged 71, was a former PE teacher who became elite coaching manager for the Football Association, the governing body for the sport in England.

Other high-profile roles included head of the youth Academy for Cardiff City FC, England youth and women’s coach and stints in Malaysia and Canada.

Bate spent his early playing career with Alfreton Town before joining Boston United in 1971. There, he began a long association with Howard Wilkinson, captaining the club under his management and securing his Uefa ‘A’ Licence.

Bate moved to Buxton as player-manager in 1975.

Wilkinson went to Mossley as player-manager the following year and recommended Bate as his successor when he resigned the following May.

Bate took up the reins in June 1977 and steered the club into the first round of the FA Cup, before leaving in January 1978.

He joined Sheffield United as a youth team coach before succeeding Wilkinson as Football Association North West regional FA staff coach in 1980, a post he held until 1985 when he joined Notts County as chief coach. He had a brief spell as manager of Southend United in 1987 before becoming assistant manager at Lincoln City where he helped the club regain its Football League status at the end of the 1987–88 season.

He moved on to rejoin Wilkinson at Leeds United as coach between 1988 and 1992, before going to Malaysia as technical director, a role he held from 1992–1995 when he joined the coaching staff of Hereford United.

In 1998, he became the coach of the England youth set-up and was caretaker manager of the England women’s national football team for a match against Italy in April 1998.

In September 2005, he was appointed the Canadian Soccer Association’s technical director, staying for 10 months until joining Watford.

In 2012, he took on the role of the head of the youth Academy for Cardiff City and latterly worked with Burnley on a consultancy basis.

Mr Bate was 71.