(Reuters) – England will reject any offers for women’s national team coach Sarina Wiegman and discussions about a contract extension will begin after the World Cup, Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Amid speculation linking Wiegman to the vacant U.S. women’s role following the resignation of Vlatko Andonovski, Bullingham also said there was no reason why she could not manage the England men’s team one day.
England play Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final. Wiegman, 53, is the first coach to lead two different teams to a World Cup final after her native Netherlands lost the title-decider four years ago.
Asked if the FA would look to fend off approaches for Wiegman, Bullingham said: “Yes, 100%.”
“It is not about money. We are very happy with her and feel she is happy,” he told British media on Thursday.
“We’ve seen lots of rumours, and she is a special talent – we know that. From our side, she’s contracted through until 2025.”
Talks over an extension will be held after the conclusion of the World Cup, Bullingham added.
“We’re obviously huge supporters of her and hopefully she feels the same way. She’s someone we’d like to have with us for a very long time.”
England have lost just once in 38 matches since Wiegman took over as coach in 2021, a 2-0 defeat in a friendly against Australia in London that ended a 30-match unbeaten run which included last year’s Euros title triumph.
Bullingham said Wiegman “could do anything she wants in football” and suggested she could be a successor to England’s men’s coach Gareth Southgate.
“People always say it is ‘the best man for the job’. Why does it have to be a man? Our answer is always ‘it’s the best person for the job’.”
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
