Wales women’s manager Gemma Grainger signs contract extension

She Kicks Magazine

·9 January 2023

Wales women’s manager Gemma Grainger signs contract extension

Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images

The FA of Wales has confirmed that women’s team manager Gemma Grainger has signed a two-year contract extension until 2027.

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The new deal will see Grainger taking the team through the qualifying campaigns for UEFA EURO 2025 and FIFA World Cup 2027.

Grainger, who was appointed manager in March 2021, guided Wales to within touching distance of reaching a major tournament for the first time in her first qualifying campaign in charge. After finishing second in their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying group, Wales narrowly missed out on a place in the finals following a last-minute defeat in the play-off final against Switzerland.

The contract extension comes following a successful 2022 in a year that saw a record crowd of 15,200 in attendance at Cardiff City Stadium for Cymru’s play-off semi-final win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Speaking on the extension, Grainger said: “I’m delighted to have signed a new contract and extend my journey working with this special group of players. I’m an ambitious coach, these players are ambitious and the FAW are ambitious, so all those things are a great match.

“We want to drive our progress and momentum from the last qualifying campaign, both on and off the pitch, and take that forward into the new year and the next two qualifying campaigns.”

FAW CEO Noel Mooney said: “We have made huge strides with the Women’s National Team and our focus now is firmly on qualifying for UEFA EURO 2025 and the 2027 FIFA World Cup.

“This group has captured the imagination of the Welsh public and we have no doubt they will break new glass ceilings for Welsh football in the coming years.”

FAW Chief Football Officer David Adams added: “Gemma has demonstrated her ability to effectively develop this talented team, and during the World Cup qualification campaign we have seen tremendous progress both on and off the field.

“We are confident Gemma can continue this process as we aim to qualify for the Women’s European Championships and use this as a catalyst to continue to increase participation across Cymru.”

Grainger’s side kick off the new year by returning to Spain to take part in the Pinatar Cup, where they will face the Philippines, Iceland and Scotland in February.