England’s Football Association is looking to open talks with women’s national team manager Sarina Wiegman regarding a contract extension after she led the Lionesses to their first Euros title Sunday.
Wiegman just took the helm last September but has gone undefeated as manager since then and now has led the team to its first major trophy. Her current deal runs through 2025.
“She will have a couple of weeks off. When she gets back, we’ll have a conversation,” said Baroness Sue Campbell, head of women’s football for the FA. “She needs a holiday. She’s done an incredible job.
“Everybody said to me, ‘Do you think she can win the Euros?’ And I said, ‘It’s a very short time span, that.’ But my goodness, she has molded the team together. Not just the players, the team around her.
“There’s a togetherness. You have to be in it to feel it. When we interviewed her, we knew we were getting the best tactical and technical coach in the world. What we didn’t know was that we were getting this exceptional human being.”
Following the title, Wiegman said that the win was about more than just soccer.
“When you win a European Championship, things will change,” Wiegman said. “We changed society and that is what we want. That is so much more than football.
“It’s not easy to win this tournament and this is the same in the World Cup. The whole country stood behind us in the stadiums, outside the stadiums and we really made a change. I think this tournament has done so much for the game but also women and girls in society. In England but also across the world too.”
Still, for Wiegman, the Euros win — her second in a row, after she led the Netherlands to the 2017 Euros title — may take some time to sink in.
“I don’t think I’ve realized what we’ve done,” Wiegman added. “Over the whole tournament, we have had so much support from our fans and I think we’ve done an incredible job. I’m so proud of the players and the team.”
The “number one target” for England last year according to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, he added that the hope is that the coach remains with England “for a long time” after Wiegman exceeded expectations in her first Euros at the helm.
“We were delighted to secure her, even though in our wildest dreams, we thought that this tournament might be too early,” said Bullingham.
“We weren’t sure we’d win this one. We were hoping we would win one in the future, so she achieved brilliant results earlier than we could have ever hoped. She only signed in September but we would love her to be with us for a long time. I think she’s a really special person and a really special talent.”