Neville exit leaves FA to fill GB and England roles
The Football Association must find a head coach for the Team GB women’s side, six months from the Tokyo Olympics, as well as an interim England coach, after Phil Neville’s early departure was confirmed.
Neville, who was to be replaced as England head coach by Holland’s Sarina Wiegman from September, has been appointed manager of Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, who are part-owned by former team-mate David Beckham.
The move means the 43-year-old former Manchester United full-back relinquishes the chance to coach Great Britain at the Games. It is understood the FA is likely to choose an interim England head coach and a Team GB coach through separate recruitment processes.
Appointing a stand-in England coach for next month’s international window is the priority, as the team have not played a competitive match since March. An announcement regarding that appointment could be made tomorrow.
The FA had already been searching for a new coach to join the England staff, after Neville’s assistant,, Rehanne Skinner left in November to take over at Tottenham Hotspur. It is understood the successful candidate in that search for a new No2 will form part of the interim coaching structure.
Then a separate process will be
conducted to appoint a coach to lead Team GB on a one-off basis this summer, starting with a training camp in June.
Baroness Campbell, the FA’S women’s football director, said of Neville: “Given his status, he did much to raise the profile of our team. He has used his platform to champion the women’s game, worked tirelessly to support our effort to promote more female coaches and used his expertise to develop many of our younger players.”
Neville led the Lionesses to the World Cup semi-final in 2019, the year they also won the Shebelieves Cup for the first time. However, they lost seven of his final 11 matches.
Manchester United coach Casey Stoney and Chelsea coach Emma Hayes are expected to be among the front-runners for the Team GB job.