Sarina Wiegman’s job as England head coach will not be under threat even if her team suffers an early exit at this summer’s Euros.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has given his support to the current coaching set up ahead of the tournament, which kicks off in Switzerland on Wednesday.
“We’re delighted Sarina’s in place until 2027”, Bullingham told reporters. “I don’t see any scenario changing that.”
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England are in the so-called ‘group of death’ at the Euros, with France, Netherlands and Wales all standing in their way of reaching the last 16.
There’s no guarantee, therefore, the defending champions will even make it to the knockout stages but internally hopes are high for another deep run at a major competition.
“We’re aiming to win it,” Bullingham insists. “But we know just how hard that is. We’ve only won one tournament since 1966 but we do believe we’re one of a number of teams who are capable of winning and we’re doing everything to try and make that a reality.”
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Wiegman’s current contract expires after the World Cup in two years and Bullingham admits he hasn’t started to think about a post-Sarina era.
“We’re delighted that she’s with us until at least 2027. We haven’t started to look beyond that timescale yet or engage in those conversations.
“We feel like we’re locked in for this tournament and the next one. That feels very good for now but that’s not to say we wouldn’t have a conversation at some point in the future.”
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Former Lioness Jordan Nobbs speaks to Sky Sport News about England’s chances at Euro 2025, the fact their winning mentality will get them through squad absences and gives an insight into Sarina Wiegman’s management style
Any succession plan would be a big overhaul for the Lionesses considering Wiegman’s backroom staff will probably leave when she does.
Her current assistant Arjan Veurink has already accepted an offer to become Netherlands boss after the Euros and will be replaced by Dutch coaches Janneke Bijl and Arvind Smit.
Lionesses’ general manager Anja van Ginhoven would also likely depart when Wiegman decides to walk away but Bullingham insists the FA is used to change, as they have seen recently with Thomas Tuchel taking over the men’s team.
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Fran Kirby discusses her retirement from international football and insists she is excited to be a fan instead of a player. Kirby was speaking at a women’s football event hosted by Viagogo
“It’s not just a manager that moves but quite often they bring two or three people with them. In the men’s game it tends to be a bigger number than that,” Bullingham added.
“Thomas [Tuchel] came in with four or five and you look at some scenarios where coaches bring in 10-plus people. It’s no surprise.
“We’re delighted we’ve got Sarina until 2027 and we’ve got plenty of time to plan for the future after that, whether she carries on or whether we have to make a new appointment after that.”
World Cup 2035: New stadia being looked at as possible venues
Bullingham is also part of the team planning to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup across the UK.
33 stadia have declared an interest in hosting games, which will be whittled down to around 20 when more details are submitted to FIFA.
They’re also keeping up-to-date on as many as six yet to be built, with Manchester United’s potential new ground being tracked closely.
Manchester United’s proposed new stadium could be under consideration for the 2035 Women’s World Cup
“[Old Trafford is] one of the ones we’ve got our eye on,” Bullingham said. “There’s probably at least five others that could be built throughout the next few years that could be attractive.
“You could look at what could potentially happen at St James’ Park, you could look at what could happen at Birmingham, you could look at what could happen at Wrexham.
“There are a number of other ones that could well be of interest.”
One city that’s receiving special attention is Belfast after Northern Ireland missed out on staging games due to a lack of funding for upgrades at Casement Park.
Bullingham insists efforts are being put in to make sure Windsor Park will host games, even if the stadium needs to expand.
“The question for Windsor Park is how we expand it slightly because the minimum number of you have to get per World Cup bid is 20,000.
“They’re just off that but we think it’s perfectly possible to add those extra seats and we fully expect Northern Ireland and Windsor Park to be part of the World Cup.”