Phil Neville to quit England job in 2021 despite delayed Euros

Phil Neville will leave his role as England Women's manager when his contract expires in 2021, the Football Association has confirmed.

Lionesses boss Neville had been set to lead the team into Euro 2021, with his deal up following the tournament. However, with the coronavirus pandemic impacting the football calendar, pushing the men's Euro 2020 into next year, the women's finals have been delayed to 2022.

Neville will continue in the position until his contract ends but will then depart, leaving a new appointment to take charge as England hosts the tournament. The 43-year-old had also been set to coach Team GB at the Tokyo Games, though, and his role in the Olympics set-up is less clear.

The 2020 Olympics have been postponed until 2021, and the FA has not yet reached an agreement with the British Olympic Association on the possibility of Neville taking charge in Japan as planned.

"In light of the impact of current global events on the sporting calendar and in the best interests of the England Women's team, both parties were in agreement that our shared priority was to ensure the Lionesses have continuity of coaching going into the home Euro and looking towards the 2023 FIFA World Cup," Sue Campbell, the FA's director of women's football, said in a statement.

"Once football returns after this difficult period, Phil will continue his work with the Lionesses on the further development of his squad. I will support him fully with that important task while moving forward with the crucial succession planning process. 

 

April 24, 2020

"We will now discuss next steps with the British Olympic Association and the home nations with regard to Team GB football, and we are not in a position to make any further comment at this time."

Neville added: "As a result of the changes to the proposed tournament scheduling, we will now be working to plan for a revised match calendar once it is safe and appropriate to do so. I am looking forward to getting back to work with the team as soon as possible. We have a fantastic squad of players and there is plenty to work on as we look to progress as a team going into 2021."

Former Manchester United defender Neville was appointed to his first senior coaching role as England manager in 2018. The Lionesses won the SheBelieves Cup in 2019 before reaching the Women's World Cup semi-finals later in the same year, losing to eventual champions the United States.