August 30 – Vera Pauw (pictured) will depart her role as Republic of Ireland Women’s manager following the expiry of her contract at the end of August. Eileen Gleeson will take charge on an interim basis.
On Tuesday, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed that Pauw, who took charge in 2019 and led Ireland to their maiden Women’s World Cup, will not continue as manager.
FAI Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Hill said: “On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 where our women’s team made history and inspired a nation.
“The future is bright for women and girls’ football and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women’s team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team, and more broadly the development of women and girls’ football in this country.”
At the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Ireland drew 0-0 with Nigeria in their final first-round game to finish bottom of Group B. Despite, the success on the field, storm clouds had begun to gather over Pauws’ reign even before the tournament.
She led a renaissance of the Tallaght Tigers, a team that had to strike against the FAI to gain basic rights only a few years ago, but an investigation into misconduct by coaches in US football exposed Pauw, with accusations that she was guilty of controlling behaviour and weight shaming during her time at the Houston Dash.
Her relationship with some players in the Irish team broke down and they no longer wanted her in charge.
On September 23, Gleeson will lead Ireland against Northern Ireland in the Women’s Nations League.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1714154861labto1714154861ofdlr1714154861owedi1714154861sni@i1714154861tnuk.1714154861ardni1714154861mas1714154861