Gemma Grainger has stepped down as Wales Women supervisor to take up the Norway Women head coach role.
Grainger spent virtually three years as Wales supervisor after her appointment in March 2021, and has overseen a profitable spell for the workforce.
She guided the workforce to the brink of qualification for final summer time’s Women’s World Cup, lacking out to a last-minute defeat within the play-off remaining towards Switzerland.
During the identical interval, Wales registered a file attendance for a girls’s worldwide match when 15,200 followers watched their World Cup play-off semi-final towards Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Cardiff City Stadium.
In the inaugural Women’s Nations League, Wales completed backside of Group A3, having performed Germany, Denmark and Iceland. Their solely level of the marketing campaign got here in what turned out to be Grainger’s final sport in cost – a 1-1 draw towards Germany on the Swansea.com Stadium.
She will now take over the previous World Cup and European champions Norway, with Leif Gunnar Smerud having been in interim cost following the departure of Hege Riise after the World Cup. Norway have been knocked out within the final 16 in Australia and New Zealand.
Grainger stated of her departure: “Over the final three years I’ve given my coronary heart and soul to our journey, and I will probably be perpetually grateful to have had the chance to work with this workforce and proud nation.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to work with this group of players and staff, and to represent a nation that has supported the team with incredible pride and passion.
“I had no intention to go away Cymru, however I’ve been supplied an surprising alternative that I couldn’t flip down and it has been extraordinarily tough for me to get to this level. I hope the choice to go away has not been taken frivolously.
“I truly believe this team is ready to take the next steps and qualify. I’m confident the team can continue to build and grow from this point forward.
“Cymru will perpetually have a spot in my coronary heart, diolch am bopeth.”
Gemma Grainger’s remaining sport as Wales supervisor was a 0-0 draw towards Germany in Swansea
Noel Mooney, FAW Chief Executive, stated: “I would like to place on record our sincere gratitude for what Gemma has achieved during her time as Cymru national team manager. She worked incredibly hard with all of us at the FAW to provide the best possible environment for the women’s national team to be successful.
“We are actually completely happy that we have now progressed effectively underneath Gemma and now, we enter a interval of recruitment for a brand new supervisor that may give us one of the best alternative to qualify for Euro 2025 and the 2027 World Cup.”
FAW President, Steve Williams added: “I’d like to thank Gemma for her arduous work throughout her tenure as supervisor. Having continued to increase the requirements throughout the nationwide workforce set-up, I consider her eventual successor may have the instruments to proceed pushing this workforce to new heights.”
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