The FAI has confirmed that Eileen Gleeson will take over as Ireland women's head coach on an interim basis following the departure of Vera Pauw.
The association announced on Tuesday night that Pauw, who had just led Ireland's at its first ever Women's World Cup, was not being offered a new contract.
"The Football Association of Ireland can confirm that Eileen Gleeson will take on the role of Interim Head Coach of the Ireland Women's National Team, starting with their opening two UEFA Nations League games in September," the FAI said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
"Currently FAI Head of Women and Girls' Football, Eileen was previously involved with the WNT as Assistant Coach and will now lead the team on an interim basis as the recruitment process for the new Head Coach begins."
21 February 2023; FAI head of women’s and girl’s football Eileen Gleeson with Louise Quinn, left, and Katie McCabe, right, during a Republic of Ireland women training session at Dama de Noche Football Center in Marbella, Spain. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
When Pauw was appointed Ireland manager in 2019, she named Gleeson as her assistant. Gleeson departed that role in 2021 to become head coach at Glasgow City but returned to work with the FAI after 13 months in Scotland.
Following the announcement of Pauw's exit on Tuesday, FAI CEO 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."
Ireland will host Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on September 23rd before travelling to Budapest to take on Hungary on September 26th in their opening Nations League group B games.
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